A Silent Twilight
by cheaplittlenotebook
Summary: A new vampire is on the loose, and he has the intention of putting Edward and Bella's relationship in peril. Leave reviews por favor! :D
1. Preface

**This has been updated since I didn't think the last one really fit the story. If something changes and the last one starts to apply more, this will be updated again. :]**

* * *

My lips locked passionately with his and I knew the meaning of completion. Here in his arms, nothing could go wrong. The moon, the stars, the sun, all aligned—and such clichéd phrases were perfectly applicable instead of sickeningly cheesy. I kissed his cheek when our kiss was over, then gazed into his deep blue eyes. How could a human love me so thoroughly? This—this love, this passion—was unlike anything I had ever experienced in my life. This was what I dreamt of every night, without any exceptions. I kissed his smiling lips once more, and he fell easily into the kiss. Our lips moved in sync with each other for a few moments, and then he moved onto my neck, planting kisses and taking in my scent—a scent that he said reminded him of cherry blossoms. The door opened, disturbing the passion we were sharing with each other.

A distressed, bronze-haired boy with golden eyes stood in the doorway.


	2. Pretty Pretty

"You may now kiss the bride."

Edward lifted the veil from my face and leaned in to kiss me. As I prepared for the heart-stopping touch of his cold lips, something went horribly wrong. Edward's eyes turned red, his grip tightened to the point of breaking my arm-and as he leaned in to suck my body dry of its blood, I woke up screaming.

I felt a cold stone touch my hand before I could really understand what was going on in the waking world. I realized quickly that it was Edward's hand, and opened my eyes to see his face gazing into mine, his eyes the lightest color of topaz. I was grateful for this sign that he had gone hunting last night.

But his eyes will never be red, I assured myself. He's a vegetarian.

"Is there something wrong, love?" he asked, and I practically melted listening to his velvety voice.

"No...no..." I lied, despite knowing that it was worthless to try to lie to him.

"Bella-" He stopped speaking suddenly and looked to the door. "Charlie's coming," he muttered, and disappeared.

Just as Edward had predicted, Charlie walked in only a few seconds later, absolutely unaware, as usual, that Edward had spent the night. Casually, he said, "Bella, wake up and get ready-Alice called and said the two of you were going to go out shopping today..." He raised an eyebrow. "How come you didn't tell me before that you two were going to go out today?"

"Sorry, I must have forgotten," I said apologetically, rising from my bed. But truthfully, Alice had told me weeks ago that she was going to take me on an expedition for my wedding dress-she just hadn't told me the date so that I wouldn't be able to weasel my way out of it. If it had been anyone else taking me, I would have planned something to do every day so when she called, I would be busy, but Alice would know when I had given that up. So I hadn't even bothered trying to avoid her taking me away.

"Well, just hurry up and get ready-she'll be coming over in a few," Charlie told me, and left the room.

I was sure that she would come over as soon as possible, to avoid any attempts at escape that I might make. I wanted to groan, but kept it to myself in case Charlie heard. I didn't need any questions about why I wasn't looking forward to this certain shopping expenditure.

As I gathered my clothes to take a shower, I looked to my window to see if Edward had reappeared yet. No sign of him. I guessed that he knew we really wouldn't have much time together right now, if Alice was to haul me off as soon as she was able to.

I took a shower, got dressed, brushed my teeth, and headed downstairs to make myself breakfast. I wasn't sure if I could stomach anything more than a couple of pieces of toast, so I took two slices of bread out of the fridge and popped them into the toaster.

Charlie appeared from his room, ready for his job at the police station. "All right Bella-I'm off to work. You and Alice stay out of trouble," he told me, heading for the door. There was really more truth to that than there should have been-after all the trouble I managed to get into with Charlie, aided by Alice, it was a wonder that he hated Edward instead of her.

Then again, Alice never proposed to me.

"Okay, Dad; we're just going up to Seattle for a little while. No big deal."

He eyed me suspiciously and made his way out the door. Almost simultaneously, my breakfast popped out of the toaster. I took out the two pieces of toast and put them on my plate, then buttered both of them and sat down.

I knew that I had no reason to be nervous about shopping for a dress, but something about it set my nerves on end. Perhaps it was because of this small town-news spread fast and if one of these people-especially one of Charlie's friends-spotted me looking for a wedding dress, it would be the end of me. I could only imagine the stares that kind of story would provoke-it would probably be ten times worse than the stares I got from being a newcomer two years ago.

Halfway through my breakfast, Alice appeared in my doorway, all smiles. "Knock, knock," she said pleasantly, and sat down next to me. "Are you excited for today?"

"Ecstatic," I answered in the deadest voice I could manage. How was she always so perky?

"Oh, come on, Bella-chin up!"

I thrust up my chin sarcastically.

"Bella..." Alice said, giving me her sad eyes. But I wasn't going to put on a happy face just because she was giving me the eyes. I continued eating my toast, acting as if she was not attempting to retrieve any reaction at all from me. Noticing that she was having no effect on me, she decided to pull the Edward card on me. "Edward loves you so much. Why can't you just be happy about the wedding?"

"You know I love Edward, too. This whole thing is just ridiculous." I threw away the rest of my toast, no longer hungry now that Alice was bringing this terrifying shopping trip into reality.

"It's not to him. He loves you, and he knows you're the one for him. And asking for your hand in marriage is not that high of a price for what you're asking in return. Not to him at least. And, he's been waiting over 100 years for this, Bella," she said softly. "For _you_."

I knew all of this-I knew what he thought he was taking away from me because of what I was asking, and I knew he had lived over 100 years, lonely except for the fact that he had Carlisle and the rest of the Cullen family. But he was wrong about what I would lose. He was proof that there was life with a soul was possible even without a heartbeat. He was the most loving, generous person I had ever met.

"Well, anyway, let's get going. I know you want to be there and back by the time the crowds arrive. Shy, silly Bella," she said, smiling, knowing my argument-we had had the marriage discussion so many times before...

Right then it occurred to me that my wrist was missing its most prized possession. "Hold on a second," I said, and rushed upstairs. Alice followed me on my heels to make sure that I didn't climb out of my window when I got to my room. She had reason to worry, though I wasn't sure why she didn't just look into the future and see that I had decided to withstand the torture she had in store for me today.

I picked up my charm bracelet from my nightstand and put it on my wrist. It was my best symbol of both of the ones I loved...I touched the wooden wolf longingly. Edward, I would always have, but Jacob...It wasn't right to love them both, though, not in this way...I had to let one of them go, and it wasn't going to be Edward.

With the testaments of my love dangling on my wrist, I was ready to go, and Alice dragged me off to her yellow Porsche to purchase what I was certain would be the frilliest, most terrifyingly not me dress in the entire city of Seattle.

"Oooh! This one, Bella! This one!" Alice said excitedly, pulling a huge, lacy dress off of the rack.

I groaned. "Geez, Alice, couldn't you learn to be a little less...girly?"

"Oh, come on, Bella! This will look beautiful on you!" she insisted, holding the dress up to my body.

I don't know if it was more the hideousness of the lace, or if it was just the overall flashiness of it. But if I had to get married practically against my will, then couldn't I at least do it with some kind of subtlety? But this was Alice I was dealing with. She did nothing halfway.

"Alice, I know I gave you pretty much free-range with the wedding-" I started.

"But you wanted to pick out your dress," she completed for me. "You do still want to pick out your dress, don't you?" I knew that the only reason why she was asking me, and the only reason why she had agreed to my condition, was because she had always wanted to shop for a wedding dress with a little sister.

"I just don't want anything too lavish. You know-"

She giggled; the sound of bells emanated from her throat. "Oh, Bella..." she said, putting the dress back on the rack and beginning to hunt for another one. I knew what that meant-no holding back for her. I rolled my eyes and followed her through the aisle. None of these dresses appealed to me-and I knew that none of them would. We could search every store in Seattle-no, the entire state of Washington-and none of the dresses would appeal to me. It almost made me wonder if there was any point to me bothering to shop with her.

As Alice oohhed and aahhed over every last extravagant dress, I fumbled with the crystal heart Edward had added to the piece of jewelry Jacob had given me. "Silent as my heart, and equally yours," he had told me. And after being with him so often lately, I was beginning to regain my trust in him-not just that he would never leave me, but also that he really was genuinely here...It was true that I still believed that I didn't deserve him, but I was so in love with him that there was nothing I could have done to let him go. I knew I was being selfish. There was no stopping my insatiable love for him, though-I had discovered that when he left me.

"Bella? How about this one?" Alice interrupted my thoughts with yet another dress.

I rolled my eyes. "Alice..."

"Bella, come on! He gives you one condition, and you don't even want to follow through?"

Actually, there was more than one condition: I had also agreed that he could buy me two cars (which he claimed really only amounted to one because of the reason for the number), that I would attend one semester of college (our agreement had actually been at least one, but there was no way I was going to wait for more than a semester), and that I would be patient enough to wait for him until after we were married (the condition I was least happy about, despite my discomfort at the idea of turning nineteen before I turned, or my opposition towards marriage and him buying me expensive objects.) I didn't mention these technicalities, though I did think over that last one again. If there was anything that would make the frilliness worth it, that was it. I raised an eyebrow at the puff of white hanging on Alice's arm, but took the dresses from her.

"Where are the fitting rooms?" I grumbled.

Alice clapped her hands softly but excitedly and led me to the back of the store, where I took the very last room.

I sifted through the dresses Alice had picked out before bothering to try them on. She had picked out about seven of them, and many of them were typical Alice-too frilly, too big. I ended up picking two from the fray, and tried those on. The first was not flattering at all, and the second, I felt was too revealing. Didn't Alice know me at all?

I couldn't say that any of these dresses committed the lesser crime of the bunch, but the least I could do-for Alice's sake-was pick out a random dress and-

"I wanna see you in each one!" Alice called out. Damn her visions-why did they have to occur the instant a decision was made?

I groaned and put on the dress that was on top of the pile. I didn't bother looking into the mirror-I knew I wouldn't like what I saw. I stepped out of the dressing room, preparing myself for Alice's yelps of joy.

"You look beautiful, Bella! Come here - look at yourself in the mirror!" she exclaimed.

"Alice..."

"Bella, if you didn't want to do this, then why did you offer?"

"Could you just..." I sighed. "Alice, you know I love you to death, but your taste in clothing..."

She cocked her head to the side, and immediately I felt guilty for criticizing her. I didn't want to hurt her feelings-that was the last thing I wanted to do. "Alice...you can buy me whatever clothing you want, any other time, but could you let me have a little more freedom with this?"

"I just want what's best, Bella."

"I know, but..." I felt so guilty for saying this. I had promised her that we could shop for a dress, and I had known the frilliness was coming. I sighed. "Okay, Alice, I'll give you a bit more freedom."

She gave me her happy clap again, and I tried to look a bit more content with her choice of dresses. I sulked into the fitting room, and made my way through each of the dresses, showing Alice each individual one.

We ended up not buying any of them. Of course, it took a lot of searching to find a dress that would please Alice.

* * *

"I have the perfect hair style for this dress, Bella! You're going to look absolutely incredible," Alice told me when we were walking out of the store with the dress that she had finally decided on, after searching all day through what must have been every bridal store ever built in the city.

"Wonderful," I said sarcastically.

"Aren't you the least bit excited about the wedding, Bella?"

I sighed. I loved Edward to death, but I felt no need to marry him. I knew that I was going to love him forever. I didn't need papers or a huge ceremony to erase any doubt about that, because there was no doubt. "Alice, we've talked about this before..."

"I know, Bella, but you're being silly. This wedding is going to be a dream come true!"

I didn't really have a response to that. I knew that she was going to make this possibly the most gorgeous event that I had ever seen; she would decorate the house (where we would be holding the ceremony) more gorgeous than even the richest man's wedding, but that wasn't the problem. My guess was that she was only trying to assure me of the beauty of the wedding because she had given up trying to convince me that marriage wasn't overrated.

I looked up into the faces of the crowd, losing myself in my thoughts again. Marrying Edward should not scare me. Maybe the thought of marrying him so young should; after all, my parents had gotten married when they were around my age, and ended up divorced. But there was no fear of that with Edward. So why was I so worried about getting married?

"You shouldn't let your parents' experiences ruin Edward's wish. He-"

Suddenly, I stopped short, gasping.

Alice looked alarmed. "What's wrong?"

I gulped and subtly pointed to a man standing in front of us. He was drop dead gorgeous, more beautiful than any model, and it was deathly obvious what he was. A couple of years ago, I probably would not have recognized him for what he was. But now that I had spent so much time around others like him, it could not have been more apparent. "Alice, he's-"

"That's odd...I've never seen him before," she said slowly. "He's not a part of any coven that we know."

"Are you sure?" I had never met anyone in any of the other covens that the Cullens knew, but his presence still alarmed me. Was it because he was alone? I wasn't sure.

"He doesn't seem to be thirsty..."

"Do you see anything bad happening?"

"No...that's what's puzzling me." She groaned. "I wish Edward was here-he could tell us what he was doing here."

"He looks like he's looking for something."

"Or someone." Alice seemed to be getting nervous.

"Are you sure you don't see anything bad happening?"

"Yes. That's what is puzzling me..."

That must have been why she was uncomfortable-the uncertainty of what would happen. If this was an untamed, thirsty vampire, then innocent people could get hurt. What if he just wasn't thirsty at the moment, and that was why Alice wasn't getting any visions? But why would he be here, amongst all of these humans, if he wasn't thirsty?

"I should call Carlisle..."

"Okay..." Maybe he would have some sort of answer to this-he seemed to have an answer to everything else.

Alice pulled out her cell phone and quickly dialed Carlisle's number; both of us made sure to keep our eyes on the out of place vampire. "Hello...Carlisle..."

The rest of the conversation was lost as my eyes locked with the vampire's.f


	3. I Love You This Much

Carlisle decided that the vampire posed no threat to the city, and I had decided that I wasn't going to tell anyone that I had made direct eye contact with him. I didn't even know why he had made such exact contact with my eyes, so it seemed illogical to jump to conclusions. Besides, Alice had noticed that his eyes were not red, and that at least told us that I would not be in any kind of danger. The vampire's glare made me uneasy, but Alice had had no ominous visions so I tried to put it in the back of my mind.

Edward gave me a long, meaningful kiss when we arrived home, and I guessed that he had momentarily been worried about me. I kissed him back as passionately as I could—I could never match the passion of his kiss, but I could give him everything I could—and then he pulled away as I was getting to the peak of my enjoyment.

Smiling my favorite crooked smile, he asked me with his hand caressing my cheek, "What kind of dress did you find?"

I smiled back. "Is Alice blocking you?"

He chuckled. "According to her, your dress is deeply involved with the quantum theory of gravity."

I broke into a smile and said, "It's bad luck for you to see the dress before the wedding, anyway."

"Are you staying here for a few hours? Do you need to call Charlie?"

I smiled again at his subtle attempt to ask me to stay. "I'll call Charlie."

"Actually, speaking of Charlie…" Edward seemed to be remembering something but I wasn't fooled. He never forgot anything. This was some sort of strategic timing on his part.

I lifted an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"You know we need to tell him about the wedding soon."

"Edward…" I groaned.

"You do want him at your wedding, don't you?"

He had a point. As much as I dreaded telling Charlie, there was no way we could send him a wedding invitation if I hadn't even told him we were getting married in the first place. I couldn't bring myself to surprise him like that. "When do you want us to tell him?"

He chuckled. "Tonight would be nice."

"Edward, I'm not prepared for that right now…"

His crooked smile again. "When _are _you going to be prepared?"

I could almost feel myself turning pasty pale. I wasn't ever going to be prepared to tell Charlie about Edward's proposal. The very thought of telling my parents terrified me. "I guess we should go over there now."

He gave me another smile and lightly kissed my lips. "You'll be grateful you did."

"I know." I took a deep breath and Edward lead me out to his silver Volvo.

"There's really no need to worry, Bella," he told me when we got into the car.

"I know…I guess I'm just kind of on edge right now because of the wedding," I sighed.

"Why, love?" He brushed my cheek with his hand. "You're my life."

"And you're mine. You know how I feel about this, though…"

"Yes. I do." He smiled at the two words we would be saying to each other only two weeks from now. "You just still need a little warming up to the idea. I understand."

That didn't mean he was going to give up on it, though. Besides, I _was_ warming up to it a little bit. It just wasn't enough right now to actually be able to say that I didn't think it was a bad idea. _It _will_ be worth it_, I insisted to myself.

We arrived at my house, and Edward got out of the car quickly to open the door for me. I smiled at his gentlemanly gesture, and we held hands to the door. Edward knocked loudly, but politely, and within seconds Charlie was at the door.

He looked at us almost with suspicion when he opened the door, but Edward gave him a warm smile. "Good evening, Charlie," he said calmly.

I could feel myself freaking out; I clutched onto Edward's hand the tightest I ever had, and I could feel myself starting to sweat with nervousness.

Charlie glanced at me, taking in my signs of unease, and said slowly, "Hello, Edward…"

"May we come in?" Edward asked politely.

"Sure…" Charlie answered, still speaking slowly. He led us inside, and we sat down on the loveseat, while he took his usual seat on the armchair. There was a game on, but he turned it off to allow us to speak. "So what's up?" he asked.

Even with Edward's cold body right next to mine, I was burning up.

"Charlie, we have some excellent news to tell you," Edward told him, beaming. He was _excited_ about this. I was about to throw myself to the wolves, so to speak, and he was _excited_.

I saw his eyes move to my tummy, and flash up to my eyes. "What's your definition of excellent?" he asked severely.

I rolled my eyes and groaned. "Dad, it's not like that."

"Bella, you're too young to have—"

"Dad, I know. That's not it. I'm not pregnant," I assured him.

After a moment he decided to believe me, and he breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay…so what's the news, then?"

I was silent for a few seconds, not really sure how to start, and half-hoping that Edward would be the one to break the news. When I concluded that he had really intended for _me_ to tell my father, I blurted out, "Edward and I are getting married."

Charlie fell silent, stunned. After he allowed it to sink in, he relaxed and grumbled, "Well, I guess things could be worse…"

"Do we have your blessing, Charlie?" Edward asked evenly. "I understand that I should have come to you first to ask for her hand, and I deeply apologize for not doing so, but—"

He sighed. "I guess I'll have to accept your relationship. Just…"

"I love Bella more than anything. I would never let any harm come to her," Edward stated, answering to Charlie's unspoken concern.

He tried to manage a smile. "Okay, Edward." His smile faded, and he asked me, "But, Bells—if you're not pregnant, why get married so young? You're only eighteen. You have your whole life ahead of you. Anything could happen."

I sighed, and said the first thing that came to my mind. "I love Edward. I'm going to love him forever. Why should I wait to get married to him?" It was true, but in my mind I breathed a sigh of relief. This was not the real reason why we were getting married right now, and lying, no matter how miniscule the lie, was not one of the easiest things for me to manage.

He gave us another weak smile. "I guess I understand that. You're old enough to live your own life."

I knew he meant "You're old enough to make your own mistakes," but somehow my own words had given me some self-assurance about the marriage idea. We were going to be together forever, anyway, right?

But it wasn't the idea of sealing myself to Edward that was the problem. It was the idea of marriage, period.

Charlie relaxed in his chair, but stiffened a little shortly after. "I'm not telling Renee."

In that was the implication that _I_ would tell her. "Should I tell her now?"

He shrugged with almost an air of sarcasm. "I don't care," he told me. That was a yes.

I took a deep breath. We both knew what was in store for me, what with Renee's attitude about getting married young.

"Is it okay if Edward comes with me upstairs?" I asked purely out of courtesy. He would end up with me either way—there was no way I was going to tell Renee alone, either.

"Just as long as he comes down as soon as you're done," Charlie said, and we started walking upstairs. I heard the noise of the game start again as we ascended, which I was glad for. If the game was on, Edward could sneak back in easily without being heard. Not that he ever had a problem, but it definitely made it much less likely that he would get caught if Charlie was distracted. I knew that it was not the best thing in the world for a daughter to betray her father's trust, but at the same time, I had grown so used to Edward's presence at night that I almost couldn't sleep without him.

"What's Charlie thinking?" I asked Edward out of curiosity when we arrived in my room.

He sighed. "Oh, you know…typical father things. He doesn't want you to get married so young, but he recognizes that you're getting older and growing up and he doesn't want to take away your freedom. I think he's reluctant to admit that we really do love each other." He took my hand and kissed it, looking me directly in the eyes. "That_ I_ love _you_."

I smiled then moved the hand his lips had graced to his cheek, and kissed his lips passionately, attempting to forget why we had come up here. Edward gave me a few seconds to enjoy myself, then handed me his cell phone.

"Please don't distract yourself too much," he asked of me.

I sighed and dialed my mother's number. "Why couldn't I just email her?" I asked as it rang.

"And deal with your anticipation while we wait for her response? I don't think so."

"Hello?" my mother's voice said on the other line after the third ring.

"Hey, Mom, it's Bella."

"Hi, sweetie, what's up?"

"I have some…good news…for you," I told her, hoping that she hadn't noticed my pause. I needed to convince her that this was what I really wanted to do, no questions asked.

She held silence for a second. I could tell that she might have been having the same idea that Charlie had had at first. It wasn't like me to call her—usually, we sent e-mails to each other. "Good news?" she finally asked bravely. "Let's hear it."

"Edward and I are getting married," I said, closing my eyes tightly as I anticipated her reaction. Edward took my hand to assure me that everything would be fine.

Renee seemed excited, though. "You are, honey? That's great!"

"Uhh…" I accidentally blurted out from the shock of this reaction. "Errm…Mom, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Why would something be wrong with me?" she chuckled. "I'm excited for you!"

"Oh…ah…thanks, Mom." Somehow this was reassuring, however, I was still a bit confused. "Are you sure you're not upset?"

"No…honey, not as long as you're happy."

I smiled. "Mom…you're really okay with this?"

"I've seen you with Edward. He really loves you, and I can tell you love him, too. I don't see any reason to not be okay with it."

I was speechless. "Mom..really? Uh—wow! Thanks, Mom!"

She chuckled again. "What did Charlie say?"

"Um…" I was still so astonished by my mother's reaction to the point where I couldn't find words to speak properly yet. Finally I managed to get myself together and I said, "He was pretty upset at first, but he got past that and he seemed okay with it. He's trying to be okay with it, at least."

"Hmph. That doesn't surprise me," Renee said with a hint of amusement to her voice.

"Heh. Well…I better go…Edward's with me and Charlie will probably go anal if we're up here too long…" I wasn't really sure what else to say to her if we weren't going to argue about this.

"Oh, wait—could I speak to him? Just for a minute?" I could almost hear her happiness seeping through the telephone line.

"Okay, Mom," I said, smiling as I handed the phone to Edward.

"Hello, Renee," Edward said when the phone was exchanged to his hand.

I heard my mom greet my future husband, but the rest of the conversation was lost as I wrapped my arms around his waist. He put his arm around me, and suddenly everything felt right. Cold, but right. However, it couldn't last long, and after a few minutes I was shivering from his body temperature. Feeling this change and knowing that I was not about to do anything to warm up if it meant being away from him, Edward slowly picked me up and laid me gently on my bed, then put the covers over me, phone on his shoulder as he continued to talk to my mother. He sat down next to me and I sat up and hugged my knees, my body (up to my neck, at least) covered in the sheets from my bed.

"Okay, Renee," Edward said, smiling. "Goodbye. Have a wonderful evening." He hung up and hugged my immersed body, then kissed the top of my head. "Bella, love, things couldn't get any better right now."

Actually, I could think of one thing that he (_we_, actually) could've done at that moment to make it better, but I was pretty content myself, so I smiled and said, laughing, "I can't believe I'm not dead yet!"

He laughed with me, and I wished I could have freeze-framed that laugh, held it there forever and listened to its sweetness. "Should I keep my mind set on Charlie's to make sure that he won't come to my house with his guns loaded?" he joked.

I chuckled, and melted into Edward's side. "What would the shock on his face be like when he saw the bullet bounce off your chest?" I wondered jokingly.

Edward chuckled with me, but soon got serious. "I better head downstairs now…we wouldn't want Charlie to mistake our excitement for deception…he won't be able to believe that Renee is okay with this!" He could barely contain his excitement.

"I'll go with you," I said, unwrapping myself and taking his hand.

He smiled as we headed down the stairs, and for a moment I wished I was the one who could read minds so that I would be able to comprehend his happiness even more. "You see, Bella—there was nothing to worry about," he told me.

"You're right," I said softly, glad that he had been.

He kissed the top of my head, and after a few more steps we were at ground level, and Charlie turned at our entrance. "How'd everything go?" he asked.

"Wonderful," Edward announced, beaming.

Charlie looked baffled. "Did you talk to Renee?"

"Yes. She was more than supportive."

"Erm…what did she say?"

"She said that she was glad that Bella had found someone who made her so happy, and that she would be elated if she could help out with any wedding arrangements."

Charlie was dumbfounded. "Oh. Well then…I guess I can't complain if Renee doesn't," he said stiffly.

I sighed. "I know you don't want to see me grow up so soon, but…I am old enough to live my own life. I know that this isn't a mistake. I love Edward more than I've ever loved anyone…" I said, trying to make him feel better.

"Just give me a little bit to let it sink in, okay, Bells? I'm not upset; I just need time to..ah…to adjust to this."

"Okay." I gave him an awkward hug, and he attempted to hug me back. Then I took Edward's hand and started leading him to the door.

"I guess he could stay for a little while, if he wants to," Charlie grumbled.

Edward broke into a wide grin. Even this small gesture showed that Charlie was trying. We both turned and he said, "Thank you, but I must be leaving for now. Alice was in the mood to prepare a nice dinner for everyone, and it would be rude of me to opt out of some of my sister's own home cooking." It was difficult not to giggle at this lie and faint reminder to me to remember to eat dinner amongst the excitement, but somehow I managed it.

"If that's what you want," Charlie said slightly more brightly, but attempting to hide the subtle change in attitude.

"Would you like to join us?" Edward asked courteously, taking me by surprise. I had _thought_ that the dinner story had been a cover and a reminder, but maybe I had been wrong. Perhaps he just wanted to be a gentleman, though.

"Erm…I wouldn't want to impose…" Charlie answered.

"No, no—we would be more than happy to have you and Bella come over," Edward insisted. "Besides," he added when he saw that Charlie was still being reluctant, "you haven't seen Alice in quite a while, and I'm sure she'd appreciate another one of her friend's company."

Charlie softened a little bit at the mention of Alice, then said slowly, "Well…okay—as long as you guys don't mind." A frightened, confused expression crossed my face for half a second, then I quickly attempted to hide it. What was Edward thinking?

"Of course not," he answered, and Charlie noticed my changed facial expression.

"What's wrong, Bella?" he asked, eyebrow furrowed.

"Nothing…nothing's wrong," I stumbled out my horrible attempt at lying.

"I'll just take your word for it."

I bit my lip and turned, and we headed out the front door to our cars. After Edward and I had entered his silver Volvo, I asked sharply, "What's wrong with you‽" I was praying that he wasn't going to tell Charlie his family's secret, praying that he hadn't lost his mind.

"Shh…Don't worry, love," he said. "Everything is okay."

"Then why—"

"I'll tell you in a second," he interrupted.

We started driving after Charlie entered his car, and I was thankful that he had decided to drive at the speed limit. Driving in front of a father and police officer at an excess of over a hundred miles an hour might not have been the best idea in the world. Then again, I had never thought it was a good idea in front of anyone and he had never been caught.

Edward started speaking to me again once we were a little further down the road. "Alice will be done with dinner as soon as we get back home. She ordered Italian take out when Charlie decided that he was going to come with us. It'll be there before we get there." He chuckled. "I probably should have asked Charlie to dinner before we told Renee about us, but I suppose as we were about to leave made a bit more sense. I owe her a big favor for this…"

Relief flowed through my body. "I thought you had some insane idea that you would tell him about…"

He chortled again. "Is that why you were freaking out? Oh, Bella, I wish I could read your mind…Charlie thinks that there's something suspicious going on, but he didn't really know what to make of your expression."

"Why did you scare me like that, though? You should have told me…"

"I apologize, Bella; I completely forgot. I should not have alarmed you in that way."

"Don't start feeling guilty, Edward," I said quickly. "You feel remorse over the smallest things."

"I just wish I had told you before we left, so that you weren't taken by surprise like that."

"It's okay. I understand. You've given me your reason and I'm okay with that. You were so happy you forgot. No problem."

"Bella, you are too forgiving."

"There's no reason for me not to forgive you," I scowled.

He looked over to me quizzically. "Are you angry at me?"

"No! Edward, I just wish that you wouldn't feel so guilty about the little things. You act as if….as if you commit a crime every time you do something that worries me or makes me the slightest bit less than happy."

"It is a crime, to me."

"Edward…"

"I apologize—"

"Please, don't."

He held his tongue. I took his hand and kissed it, then entwined my fingers in his. "Edward, I just...I want you to be happy as much as you want me to be happy."

"I realize that. But do you realize that your safety and happiness are my number one priority as well?"

I nodded. "Of course I do. You've told me a million times before. We just need a balance."

He agreed with me. "I will try my best. I can only do so much, though, Bella," he warned.

"I'm okay with that. I would never ask more of you than you think you can do."

He smiled and kissed my cheek. I stiffened a little and he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Please keep your eyes on the road." Although he was perfectly capable of driving with his eyes closed, and I was completely aware of the fact, I was still uncomfortable with anyone who took their eyes off the road. The caution was probably best for me—it would be bad news for someone as unlucky as me if I was riding in a car with someone who couldn't read minds decided to not pay attention to where they were driving.

He bit his tongue to avoid the unnecessary apology, and I gave him a kiss on the cheek as a small thank you. "Talk about distracting…" he muttered.

"It was only a small kiss." It still put me in awe that Edward loved me so much that a peck on the cheek could cause a distraction. It was a wonder that he could love me so much—that he could find so many qualities in me to fall in love with.

We arrived at the Cullens' house in a few minutes, Charlie close on our heels. Edward and I got out of the car, and waited for my father to get out of his car before heading to the door.

Edward knocked to announce his presence then let himself in. I had to keep myself from gasping when I entered the house. Alice, surprisingly, had managed to get all of the food to the house on time, and the house even smelled of freshly baked bread. She had really surpassed herself this time—I knew that vampires were impossibly fast, but they could not be responsible for the relatively slow speed of everyday human beings, or human objects such as ovens. I could not imagine how she had managed to pull this together so quickly, and found it even harder to imagine that she had found the time to make bread (or create the illusion that she had made bread, at least).

The woman of the hour—at least to me—approached us, smiling. "Hello, Charlie! It's been a while since we last got to really speak to each other!"

"Hey, Alice," Charlie greeted, smiling back. "Did you enjoy your shopping trip with Bella?"

"Of course! She wouldn't let me buy anything for her, but I had a blast."

I had completely forgotten about the shopping trip, and my empty hands when I had arrived home. Perhaps that was why Charlie had looked at me so suspiciously when I got home—I hadn't been holding anything but Edward's hand.

"Well…Bella's always been pretty hard to shop for. She's never been much for birthdays, either." He chuckled. "Guess that's why not—she doesn't like people buying things for her."

I was a tad embarrassed at the "dad talk," but at the same time, I was grateful that Alice had managed to put him in a good mood. Or maybe it was Jasper doing his magic.

Alice giggled and said, "Well, let's eat—I've got tons of wonderful food and I'm starving!" I took a quick glance at Alice's eyes. Golden.

I was achingly curious to see how on earth Alice—and everyone else—was going to manage this.

The three of us sat down at the table with everyone else, all couples sitting together. I noticed that they had decided to have Emmett and Rosalie here, despite the story that they were off in college. I guessed that they were "visiting for the summer." Charlie noticed this and asked, smiling, "So, Emmett, how was college?"

Thank heavens he had decided not to ask Rosalie...she would surely give him some kind of death stare. I observed that she was incredibly quiet, and didn't seem as hostile this evening. Perhaps Jasper was keeping everyone's emotions in check.

Emmett chuckled and answered in his deep, booming voice: "Oh, you know. Some good times, some boring times. Mostly a lot of work, but I manage to have some fun in between."

"That's good to know," Charlie said, nodding as he ate his food. I followed suit, nerves becoming significantly more relaxed. I wasn't sure if Edward had planned for this dinner so that Jasper could get into Charlie's mind, or if it was to show him how wonderful the Cullens were to convince him that marrying Edward was the right decision. I could tell that he was doing well with Charlie, and he was doing well with me too—intentional or unintentional—because I was even convinced that this marriage would be okay.

I gave Edward a subtle kiss on his cheek as Charlie continued his conversation with the rest of the family.

He lowered his fork and whispered so that only I could hear, "What was that for?"

At first, I wasn't really sure quite how to say it, but after taking a moment to piece the words together, I said, "Thank you for this…it's wonderful. Your family…" It felt weird to finish the statement, though. I was never really a very sentimental person. I knew, though, that despite not being able to read my mind, he understood what I was going to say.

"Don't thank me. Alice was the one who managed to put this all together so nicely."

"I'll be sure to thank her, too."

He nodded slightly and resumed eating, very slowly. I watched him for a few seconds, taken aback a little. He noticed my curiosity and smirked surreptitiously.

Then I remembered what Edward had demonstrated to me when I had first met him: yes, he could eat normal food without any problem; it just didn't taste any good to him. I smiled back as faintly as I could to let him know that I understood.

Our conversations continued until well after dinner. I had never realized how well the Cullens played the part of being human—they managed to consume all of their food at such a pace that did not make Charlie raise his eyebrow; Emmett even had a few stories to tell about college life. At the end of the evening, Alice even feigned fatigue when she realized that I had become tired. All in all, it could not have been a more perfect evening.

Charlie was still in a good mood when we arrived home—I could tell by the way he told me good night. As glad as I was that he could potentially be okay with what I was becoming elated about, I was also glad that he had not stopped to chat with me. I wanted to go to bed and dream about the amazingness of this night, and what the future held for me. I bounded upstairs to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and washed my face, then went to my bedroom, not bothering to change into sleeping clothes. I flopped onto my bed after taking my bracelet off and closed my eyes, not noticing the other presence in the room.

"Bella," he said softly.

I jumped and looked around the room to identify the source. It didn't take long—his pale white skin shone clearly against the darkness of the night. "Edward," I stated. It did not surprise me that he was here, but he usually kept quiet when I was trying to sleep.

"I forgot…to give you something," he told me, hesitating after the first two words.

Puzzled, I asked, "What?"

He closed the door, then held out a crimson velvety box. He opened it, and I gasped at the beauty of the ring inside. "I didn't bother giving it to you when I proposed to you because I knew you would not want to wear it, but perhaps now you don't object to the idea?"

I took the ring from the box and kissed my fiancé's lips passionately. His tongue moved slowly with mine, caressing the side of my mouth, memorizing…He started to pull away after only a few seconds, though I attempted to make his lips stay.

"Bella…" he whispered. "You need to get to sleep." He turned off the light and carried me to my bed. I made sure to put the ring on the nightstand where it would be safe. He picked it back up and put it in its box, then bundled me up and held me in his arms. The last thing I heard before falling asleep on this perfect night was the hum of my lullaby.


	4. Forever

Edward held my foot in his cold hands, massaging it. "Your feet are still warm...does this mean I have no need to worry about tomorrow?" he joked.

I smiled. Two weeks later, I was much less objectionable to the idea of marrying Edward; in fact, he had even managed to warm me up to the idea. "My feet are fine," I answered him.

_Well, _now_ they're cold, but I'm not about to complain_, I thought to myself, savoring his touch.

"I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?" he asked as he realized that his massage was actually making my feet more stiff instead of his actual objective.

"No...no, it's heaven every time you touch me," I told him.

"You're a horrendous liar," he retorted, and took his hands away from my foot. He moved up to my face, placing his lips on mine. I fell into the kiss easily, though having his stone body on top of mine did not exactly lend well to breathing. He noticed this shortly, and instead hovered over me with his hands planted on the mattress. It was obvious that he wanted to give so much more than he felt was safe, but he was holding back because he believed he would harm me. I attempted to force his passion out of him, but failed miserably...he had had so much practice with me that I almost wondered sometimes if I was only imagining things when I thought that he wanted to give me more.

Suddenly I heard the door open, and my hands flew up to Edward's chest in an attempt to push him off of me. Blushing, I looked up to see Alice say softly, "Oops!" and quietly close the door.

Edward smiled at the look on my face and propped me up on the bed so I was sitting upright, then went chasing after his sister. She was only a few feet away, as I could easily hear their voices as they spoke. Wedding plans, I figured, since she was here to plan a few last-minute things out with Charlie. Maybe even honeymoon plans-that would probably make a bit more sense.

He came back a few minutes later, and I asked, probably more accusingly than I meant to, "Why'd you let Alice walk in on us like that?"

He grinned and brushed his fingers against the rogue left over from the embarrassment. "I wanted to see that beautiful color your cheeks turn."

Blushing again from the flattery-I could see his eyes brighten a little bit-I asked sheepishly, "Why?" I knew that he thought that every little thing about me was beautiful, but I didn't understand why it made him smile so wide when I blushed.

"It reminds me how...utterly human...you are," he answered. Then his smile faded. "I don't understand why you want to give that up."

"Edward..."

"Bella," he stopped me. "Why give up being human? It's such a beautiful thing...your heart beats, your cheeks flush when you are discomfited, and tears fall from your eyes when you cry." He pressed his ear to my chest. "I don't want to live without that heartbeat," he mused after a few seconds.

I stroked his beautiful bronze hair, but was unmoved by his speech. The only thing I wanted more than to be a vampire right now was to be with him. I understood where he was coming from, but I was not going to change my mind.

Apparently, I held my silence for a moment too long, because Edward asked, "What are you thinking?"

Smirking, I told him, "I'm thinking it's cheating, anyway, if you would know what I was thinking."

He flashed his crooked smile and asked, "How so?"

"If I'm not saying it out loud then maybe you don't need to hear it."

"I disagree. There have been innumerable times when I have needed to read something from your mind that you weren't telling me or that you were unable to tell me. Like when you ask me not to apologize to you. It's difficult for me to know how upset you are about something sometimes because I can't read your mind." He paused for a second. "That's why I apologize so often."

He did have a point there. "Okay, you win. But you know what I'm thinking right now, anyway."

He pursed his lips and nodded slightly. "You're not going to let me convince you that being human is the best choice for you." He paused for a second, looking away. "You see, this is why I left you before...I want you so badly to have a normal human life, Bella..."

"Edward, humans get older. They get older and die. How could I possibly die and leave you without me?"

Worse, how could I die and leave myself without him, six feet under with my soul so far away from his? He would always be grounded to this earth, soul and body, but if I were to die, my soul would move on and I might not ever be with him again. I wondered, could souls be unhappy?

"I would rather you live a full human life than end up like me-"

"Edward, can we stop this conversation, please? I'm not ever going to be without you, ever." I gave him a kiss on the lips, as if it were enough evidence of how much I loved him.

I could see him start fantasizing just from the small peck, and said, "See? You can't live without me, either."

"Bella, I can't...but..."

"Well, we have plenty of time to think this through before I finish my first semester of college," I told him to make him feel a little better.

He sneered at me. "You don't plan on ever changing your mind."

"No," I admitted. "But maybe time will get you used to the idea." I looked at the pain in his topaz eyes, beginning to feel a bit guilty though my decision stayed rock solid. "Edward...please, just don't think about it at all. I love you and I don't ever want to be without you. It'll make me happy," I added for good measure.

The corners of his mouth turned up a little and I kissed him again. He released a full smile, which I interpreted as a sign that he wanted me to kiss him again. I did, hoping it would take this nonissue out of his mind. As all the other kisses we shared, though, this one ended too soon, right when I was planning on holding tighter and never letting go.

"You need to get your sleep," Edward said, pulling away and taking a breather. "We have a big day tomorrow."

I smiled. "I'll go to sleep only if you stay with me."

He returned the smile and kissed my cheek. "Of course, my love." He tucked me in and left the room to present to Charlie his apparent departure. I opened the window to wait for Edward's rearrival and went back to my bed. Seconds later, he was back by my side, humming my lullaby.

* * *

I took a deep breath, nerves on edge as Alice fixed the last of the details of my hair.

"Bella, you're going to look gorgeous," Alice assured me, though I was hardly worried about looking anything less than gorgeous to Edward. I could have dressed in rags and not washed for weeks and Edward would still think I was beautiful.

"I don't care how I look, Alice...I've got the things on my mind that Edward had taken away, back on my mind. And..."

My soon-to-be sister-in-law looked me square in the eyes. "Bella. You and Edward are in love and there is nothing wrong with getting married as long as that's the case. And don't you dare ever think about Edward leaving you again. He did it before because he loved you, and he would not have proposed to you if he thought he could live without you."

I nodded, though her speech had only helped my nerves a little. _It's natural to be nervous on your wedding day. Edward's probably just as nervous_, I told myself.

"Okay, you're all ready!" Alice exclaimed after sticking the last of her bobby pins into my hair. She turned me around and I gasped at the sight.

Alice had weaved my normally frizzy, unmanageable hair into an intricate pattern of Xs that only her delicate fingers would have been able to master, and she had decorated my face in just the right amount of make-up to completely disguise my face into someone that was beautiful. Was this the kind of beauty Edward saw every time he looked at me? I was excited now to see what his reaction would be when he saw me.

Alice beamed at my reaction. "So you like it?"

"I love it..." I said softly, unable to put into words how thankful I was for her fashion expertise.

"And Edward loves you," she retorted, corners of her mouth still turned into a smile. "Oh-I almost forgot!" she exclaimed, and picked up a frilly white object from the counter and put it over my head: the veil. I started moving out of my seat, but Alice easily stopped me with the pressure of her hand. "Wait, Bella-just a few more things!"

"Alice, what more could you do?" I complained.

She took a necklace from her pocket, and adorned me with it. "Here's something borrowed..." I looked down; it was her own choker that had her family's crest on it.

"Your dress is new, so that takes care of that..." She pulled out another little something from her pocket and put it around my waist. "I saw this belt and thought it was perfect for your something blue...it goes nicely with your dress."

I nodded; though it had blue ribbon running through its center, it had just the right amount of white lace around it to look flawless with the dress Alice and I had picked out.

"And as for something old..." she finished, taking white gloves out of her pocket. "I've had these for forever! They're lovely for elegant occasions."She slipped them onto my hands.

"Now come on...Charlie is waiting outside to lead you down the aisle," Alice told me, tugging on my hand. _That_ made me a little nervous-although Alice had done an amazing job on me, I wasn't prepared to see Charlie cry over "his little girl growing up" or something equally corny.

Instead, when we approached him a look of shock spread over his face. "Bella...wow..." he stammered.

I smiled sheepishly. "It might be a bit much, but..."

"No. It's your wedding day. You look perfect."

I heard the pitter-patter of Alice running down the stairs at a human speed, and soon after her footsteps faded, the sound of Rosalie playing the wedding march on the piano started. Charlie and I both took a deep breath and I intertwined my arm with his. It was obvious that he was ten times more nervous than I was, and it didn't help my own nerves much. _Edward's down there waiting for you_, I told myself. It helped, albeit minimally.

Halfway down the stairs, I already wished that this was just done and over with and Edward and I were on our honeymoon. That impatience almost made me feel better about this though-it told me that I was okay now with getting married, at least.

Finally, my father and I reached the end of the aisle. He placed my hand into Edward's, and I looked into my love's eyes. A light topaz, accompanied by a soft, loving expression. I blushed, but remembered he could see only a whisper of my face with the veil over it.

I listened to the vows passively, though I made sure to listen well enough to say my line when it came. Edward's smile as he slipped the ring on my finger, after he pulled the veil off my face, before he kissed me, was surreal; our actual wedding kiss even more so. Slowly I became aware of the audience around me and I separated my lips from his. When I opened my eyes, I saw him opening his slowly out of pleasure for the moment. He moved his lips to my ear and said softly enough that only I could hear him, "I love you."

I whispered the words back as the audience started to applaud, hiding my words though I was sure he heard them because his eyes brightened a little bit more, as if that was possible.

My mother was the first of the crowd to reach me, gently tearing me from Edward's arms and embracing me. I knew that he allowed her to easily take me from him so that she had minimal exposure to his cold skin.

"Baby...I'm so happy for you!" she exclaimed, tears mingling with my hair.

It still confused me that Renee was so okay with my commitment to Edward, but at the same time it was difficult to reject the approval. "Thank you," I said breathlessly, tears starting to fall down my own cheeks. I found that it was difficult to contain my happiness, though it was only expressed in my tears. I wanted to skip the reception-just take Edward with me as far away as possible and do everything that people in love do...

Charlie seemed to be falling by the wayside despite the fact that he had been closest to me immediately after Edward and I had kissed. I looked up when Renee let go of me and saw that he was mingling with Alice and some other guests. That was good, hopefully. At least he wasn't off brooding somewhere. And, if he wanted to, Alice would bring the social butterfly out of him. Alice could do anything.

"I'm going to go find Edward," I told Renee, and she nodded. I walked into the kitchen, and there he was in his splendor: standing with perfect posture, speaking gentlemanly to a couple of guests as they inquired about the little things that people at weddings talk about, brilliant in his beauty.

I put my arms around my new husband, taking him by surprise a little. He must have been so distracted by the conversation that he didn't "see" me coming up behind him, but it wasn't surprising that no one else had tipped me off in their thoughts-if they had him to look at then they had no reason to even spare a glance my way.

Edward and the guests finished their conversation, eyeing me as they did so. I couldn't help but wonder if they were wondering why Edward had chosen me. I couldn't even understand why he had chosen me.

The two people walked away and Edward turned to me. His cold lips touched mine in a gentle kiss and my heart skipped a beat. I gazed into his beautiful golden eyes and felt complete. I was so close now. I was almost complete. _Almost_. There was still that one thing, that one thing that I was too impatient to wait for. I looked around to make sure that no one could hear me and asked softly: "When are you planning on changing me?"

Edward sighed, his cool breath lightly brushing against my skin. "Bella..."

"Edward!"

"Wait a little longer." I began to protest, but he put his finger over my lips. "Love, I've waited over a hundred years for you." He hesitated, his eyes tortured. "I don't want you to be..."

"Edward. If I'm choosing this..."

"What if something goes wrong?" he asked, walking away from me, pacing now. "I couldn't live with myself..."

"You know nothing will happen." I remembered when a tracker vampire had bitten me and Edward had had no choice but to suck the venom from my body. I decided that I could use that for my argument. "Nothing happened before. Last time."

He scowled. "Don't remind me of that."

"Edward," I said to him gently. "I trust you. And, if I even cared whether or not you killed me-"

I could almost feel his scowl becoming angrier. "You don't care? You don't care if I kill you‽" he asked fiercely, trying to keep his voice down. "Bella, I couldn't live with myself-"

"I'm going to die one day, anyway. You're not going to have me forever."

"And it's the only thing that convinces me to do this to you. Other than your tenacious insistence."

"I hate upsetting you, Edward."

"How do you expect me to feel, with you begging me to take away your humanity, your soul?"

"You still have your humanity," I contradicted. Before he could even open his mouth to protest, I reminded him, "It's our wedding day. We should be celebrating."

He nodded once stiffly and took me by the hand. We moved to the room that had been cleared out for the reception. I actually smiled at the decorations-Alice had done a beautiful job. I saw Edward's mood lighten a little, and I understood what he meant by the statement that his kind were easily distracted. We stopped in the center of the room-I prayed that the entire room wouldn't be staring at us-and he put his arm around my waist, bringing our hands up above our shoulders and leading the way in our dance.

Edward flashed his crooked smile. "And you say you can't dance," he chuckled.

I chuckled with him, almost surprised that I hadn't tripped yet. "I can't!" I insisted.

"Oh, please."

"Edward, you'd think that I can dance no matter what, even if I was stepping all over your toes and bumping into all the tables and ripping down all the decorations."

"You exaggerate."

"I so do not," I contradicted.

He smirked. "Sure, Bella. Sure."

I blushed, looking down at my uncoordinated feet and comparing them to his usual gracefulness. Edward sighed and lifted my chin. "My beauty pales in comparison to yours," he claimed, and kissed my lips lightly.

He was getting better at reading my mind, I'd give him that. Though he couldn't read it like he read others, he knew me well enough to understand my thoughts.

He took me closer in his arms and I buried my face in his shoulder. As he breathed in the scent of my hair, I could feel him musing over it-my scent drew a similarity to freesia or lavender, he had once told me.

* * *

I heard Alice squeal next to me and slowly the music stopped. "Time to open your wedding presents!" she exclaimed, grabbing me by the wrist. Edward took my hand and tagged along behind us to the table with the presents stacked on top of it.

"Ooooh, this one first!" Alice said excitedly, and Edward took it from her quietly. I was pretty sure that Edward did not trust me with paper around his family, considering what had happened last time I attempted to open a present around them. With practically the whole town here, if anything, even as minor as a paper cut, were to happen, it would cause disaster for his family if they reacted improperly.

Edward opened each of the gifts gingerly, keeping a cautious eye on me whenever one of them got into my hands. I could almost feel myself blushing at times from his discretion, but I hoped that my face wasn't actually turning red.

The gifts were the typical things that couples receive at weddings, with Alice's thrown in there for good measure-a few sets of lingerie and the like. I wasn't sure when she would understand that Edward didn't care what I wore, and I wouldn't wear those kinds of frilly things, anyway.

I was thankful when the reception was finally done and over with-as much as I loved my friends and family, more than anything I just wanted our first day as husband and wife to really begin. And, I wanted the endless stares from everyone to end. I was, however, thankful that no one had decided to bring up the subject of our ages.

"See...that wasn't all bad," Edward told me with his crooked smile when all the guests had cleared out.

"It could have been worse," I admitted, pecking him on his cheek.

"I wouldn't put you through too much torture," he joked, chuckling.

"You couldn't torture me, as long as you were with me."

His face broke into a wide smile, then a flash of pain took over. "I still regret all the times you were hurt because of me."

"It's okay," I reassured him.

He smiled. "I suppose." The forced smile turned into a genuine one, and he kissed my forehead. "I can't stay unhappy for long with the idea of you as my wife." He paused for a second and gazed into my eyes. Gladly, I looked into his topaz eyes, falling into him.

"There's one more thing," he said, breaking the silence as he reached into his pocket and pulled out an old-fashioned brass key. He displayed it proudly, but I wasn't sure what the key was supposed to say to me. He motioned with his hand. "Come with me. I have something to show you before we leave for our honeymoon."

"Okay..." I said, smiling sheepishly. He led me outside, far into the woods. I started questioning what a key had to do with a forest until I finally saw a small cabin, tucked away behind some trees. I smiled at the addition to the Cullen house that I had never known existed before now.

"A small place for the two of us. Close to home so we can stick together...but not _too_ close," Edward explained. We approached the house, and he inserted the key into the lock. He paused. "Do you want to see it now, or later?" he asked.

"Now, I guess. I mean, if you want to."

He chuckled. "I'm too impatient to wait." He turned the key and we walked inside to a small and homely interior. A soft, comfortable-looking couch rested against the wall, and a television was placed across the way from it, with a large space in between. We walked through to a small kitchen that seemed empty and unstocked. I wondered if that meant that Edward planned on changing me before we returned from our honeymoon.

"I want to see our room..." he said, tugging my hand. I smiled at his eagerness, and I had to admit I was curious, too. We moved from the kitchen to the other side of the cabin, and stopped in a room that was elaborately decorated-Alice's doing, no doubt-with golden drapes on the windows and a large old-fashioned bed with lacy white and gold covers. Although it was obvious who had been the most responsible for the decoration of this room, she had, as usual, done an amazing job on it.

Edward smirked. "Let's see your clothes," he said, approaching the closet. I rolled my eyes with the full knowledge of the kinds of clothes that Alice would buy me. Behind that door would be a walk-in closet, with rows of beautiful frilly clothing, gorgeous shoes, and assorted handbags.

He opened the door, and the view inside was surprisingly anticlimactic. Edward's smirk turned into a thoughtful, curious look. "Hm. That's not like Alice..." He flipped through the clothes; all of them belonged to him. "Hmm," he repeated. "Well, no time to worry about it now. We have a plane to catch, you know."

"Really?" I knew he had plans for our honeymoon, but I had no idea as to what those plans actually entailed. "Where are we going?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise," he told me, his crooked smile once more lighting up his face.


	5. Honeymoon

The island was beautiful beyond any belief-the exact kind of place that someone with the kind of god-like loveliness that Edward possessed would be expected to inhabit. I almost expected to see other vampires sneaking about amongst the palm trees, but I knew that this place was empty but for the animals and plants. None of them could be as beautiful as him either way, though.

"What is this place?" I asked in wonder.

"Isle Esme," Edward answered, his crooked smile alight. He stopped the boat next to the dock and tied it up.

I raised an eyebrow and asked after he had finished, "Esme?"

He nodded, looking up and absorbing in the scene. "Esme. It was Carlisle's gift to her one year for their anniversary."

I looked around at the massive slab of land and started contemplating. So this is what age-old vampires got each other for gifts. Wonder what would happen when they ran out of things to buy each other.

Edward broke my thoughts. "They lent it to us for our honeymoon."

"Your parents...lent us...an island...for...our honeymoon...," I said slowly. I don't know how Edward always managed to stun me.

He chuckled. "Yes, that's what I said, Bella." He squeezed my hand and continued, "Let's go. Let me show you where we'll be staying."

At this point, I almost expected a mansion, centered exactly in the middle of the island, built from superhuman materials so that it could sustain itself in even the worst of storms.

"It's a beautiful little place they have here," Edward began as we got out of the boat and started walking. Damn it. Little. "Cozy. A nice little home away from home."

"Have you ever been here before?" I asked.

"No. I've seen pictures, though. Carlisle and Esme occasionally visit, but they've never brought us. It's sort of _their thing_."

"So then why'd they lend it to us?"

"We're newlyweds." He elbowed me gently. "If there's one thing that Carlisle and Esme have learned in all their years, it's how to be selfless. They're not going to keep this place all to themselves if they have an opportunity to share it." He paused and looked at me lovingly. "Especially a place so complimentary to your beauty."

I felt my cheeks turn rosy, but I couldn't help but to smile from his compliment. It brought a thought to my mind-when Edward turned me and I acquired the beauty of a vampire, would I even be able to compare to him? No, I answered myself, I didn't think I would ever be able to. Then again, Rosalie was not even as beautiful as Edward in my eyes. Yes, she was the most beautiful female my eyes had ever seen. But there was no one who could shield my eyes from Edward's beauty.

He smiled at my embarrassment, and tugged my hand. "Come on. Don't you want to see where we will be staying?"

"Just a sec," I told him. "Let me take off my shoes first." Edward nodded and let go of my hand; I promptly took the treacherous high heels off. As beautiful as these shoes were, they did not come with a pain-free policy. I held my shoes with my left hand and took Edward's with my right. The sand was just the right temperature for my feet to walk on-it almost reminded me of the warmth of my werewolf best friend. I concentrated instead on the way the grains moved between my toes, and the cool stone of my husband's hand. I didn't need Jacob to interfere with my honeymoon.

"How does the sand feel on your feet?" I asked Edward quietly.

"Mmm..." he mused, thinking of the words to describe the sensation of sand beneath his feet. "It's...coarse. Not rough, per se, but I can feel each grain as it's displaced. It's hard to describe to a human the sensations you feel as a vampire, Bella. My senses are so much more acute than your own."

I nodded. "Do you remember anything about being human?"

"Those short moments are a blur now..." Surely in a hundred years, anything could fade away...and suddenly with that sentiment the thought of immortality sent me reeling.

"Edward. How long is 'long' in your sense of time?"

He seemed disturbed by the question. "Quite a while. Years can seem like weeks...and for vampires like the Volturi, years can seem like days. They have been around for so long that time is almost useless to them. They will never go away and they don't even bother measuring time. Why the urgency in your voice, Bella?"

A mixed feeling of relief and what remained of the worry starting stirring. "Love never fades, does it?"

"My love for you could never fade."

My nerves began to ease a little, after all, Jasper, Emmett, and Carlisle had never stopped loving their significant others, and vice versa. In a family with as much love as the Cullens, the question of that love fading should never cross my mind. Edward had taught me that. "I'm sorry."

Edward cocked his head to the side. "For what?"

"Forever _is_ a long time...but I will spend that forever with you."

"Please don't doubt yourself, Bella...It worries me," Edward pleaded.

"I'm sorry," I said, and kissed his cheek.

His lips formed into his beautiful crooked smile. "That helps ease the worry."

We approached the house, and Edward produced a key from his pocket. Just as Edward had told me, the abode was small and looked cozy even from the outside. It was tucked amongst the palm trees, completely unnoticeable in the jungle, yet not at all out of place.

"How long has this been here?" I asked. Vines climbed gently and beautifully up the walls, and vegetation grew close to it, but not so close as to make it untidy. None of it looked as if it had been cut; it was almost as if it knew where to stop growing so that it added just the right amount of untamed beauty.

"Ahh...let's see...he bought it for their anniversary one year...about 30 years or so ago, give or take a few," he answered, unlocking the door and opening it.

"It looks a lot older than that," I said as Edward led me inside.

"Well, we have old-fashioned taste," he retorted playfully.

I smiled when I saw the interior of the house. It was just Carlisle and Esme's style-homely and handsome. The furniture was not opulent, but it certainly did have care and money put into it. It was just what I would expect from the mother and father figures.

"They could raise a family just about anywhere, couldn't they?" I mused.

Edward smiled. "Yes. They could, couldn't they?" His smile turned devious and suddenly I was in the air, two cold stones holding me in place and one stone on the side of my body. As soon as the feeling had started, though, it had ended, and I was on the soft couch, Edward hovering over me. I giggled at his liveliness, hoping that he intended to kiss me for more than a second, or even more than a minute.

He kissed my lips lightly, and I pressed my hand to the back of his head to encourage him further. I knew that I couldn't physically move him if he didn't want to, but I could _convince_ him to move. When he didn't budge, I pressed my lips to his, and he gave in.

"Bella...I love you," he whispered after our kiss had ended.

"I love you, too." I kissed him again, but he pulled away.

Touching my dress tenderly, Edward said, "I'm sure you want to get out of all this lace, and I'd like to get out of this tuxedo."

"Of course...wait." The wheels in my head turned, and there was nothing in my memory pertaining to luggage.

He chuckled. "Don't worry, Bella-Carlisle and Esme took care of you."

I smiled. "Hopefully their taste isn't as lavish as Alice's when it comes to my clothing."

Bells resounded from Edward's throat as he laughed. "You'll be fine. I don't think they let Alice have a hand in what they stocked in your room. By the way, I believe they told me they already put an outfit in the bathroom for you."

"They bothered putting a bathroom in this place?"

"Yes...and a kitchen, too. I suppose it was just for that echo of their humanity. Old habits never fade...and having a kitchen and bathroom is...oh, I don't know-it gives a sense of _normality_, you could say."

I nodded, understanding.

"I'll show you the way."

I giggled. "You've never been here before. How do you know where anything is?"

"They gave me a tour of this place in their minds. A finely tuned memory to our nonhuman forms: it's another attribute to being a vampire." He took me by the hand and led me to the bathroom. I walked inside, closed the door, and changed quickly, eager to make it back to my new husband.

Edward smiled when he saw me come out of the bathroom, and I smiled back at his casual attire. I threw my arms around him and kissed his lips, but saw him draw back a little just before we sank into the kiss for a brief moment.

"What's wrong?" I asked when our kiss had ended.

"It's just that...in Forks, you don't dress quite so...temptingly." He ran his cold finger along my arm, and I felt a surge of guilt. It was too hot here for me to wear jeans and a t-shirt, but I did not want Edward to feel that burning sensation he often described when talking about how my scent made him feel.

Edward pushed me away from him slightly, taking the sight of me in. He smiled his crooked smile. "You really shouldn't do this to me." His head moved down to my chest and I held my breath. His lips puckered; he planted a small kiss and moved to my neck. I tensed up as I heard and felt him taking in my scent.

"Mmm..." he meditated and finally kissed my cheek. He drew back, and seeing my posture, said, "Like a normal human being, you were actually frightened."

"You won't hurt me," I insisted as I felt the tension melt away.

"Sometimes I wish I could..." He paused, looking into my eyes. He brushed his hand across my cheek. "But that comes more from frustration, of not understanding how you could love me, of your unrelenting desire to become the creature I am...And it never lasts for more than a fleeting second." He kissed my cheek.

"You won't hurt me..." I whispered, leaning my head into his chest.

Edward gently glided his hand through my hair, cooling my head from the humid heat. He pressed his nose against my head, taking in my scent again. "The more time I spend around you, the less painful it is. It's so much easier to be around you now..."

"Good," I muttered. At least if I was causing him pain, that amount of pain was lessening. I would have rather caused him no pain at all, but that was not possible. "After you change me, there will be no temptation, no pain, at all..."

"I wouldn't say there would be no temptation," Edward chuckled.

I smiled to myself. "You know what I mean."

He took in another sniff of my scent and said, "Carlisle and Esme told me that the sunset here is beautiful. I don't doubt it, but we should see for ourselves."

I looked up at his crooked smile when my stomach growled right on cue.

"My fragile human darling," Edward chuckled and led me to the kitchen.

I quickly prepared a sandwich and grabbed a banana, then scarfed them down as quickly as I could manage.

"Don't hurt yourself," Edward joked.

"I'm fine," I said as I swallowed my last bite.

"We're in no hurry, you know."

I sighed. "I know. I just don't want to waste time eating."

He chuckled. "_Waste_ time eating? You need to survive, Bella."

I kissed his cheek. "Yes-but I just want to be with you right now. I don't want to have to worry about all my weaknesses."

Edward frowned. "Bella...there are-certain things-that you're not yet strong enough for. That _I'm_ not yet strong enough for. I couldn't bear the thought of hurting you in any way."

"It's our honeymoon, Edward. We could try-just once..." I pressed, disappointed by his decision.

"I've hurt you too many times before. I can't let that happen again. I don't know how much self control I really have."

"But...you just said-"

He grimaced. "I know. And your blood is so much less tempting to me now than it was when I first met you. It's more than that, though. I'm sorry, Bella. I'd rather just wait until you're stronger. I can't let myself get out of control..."

"I trust you," I maintained.

"And that fact is bittersweet." Edward held out his hand. "Now let's go watch the sun set."

I gave up and took his hand. We headed out to the beach and sat down next to each other on the warm sand.

I put my hand over Edward's and he looked over to me with a self-assured smile on his face. He lifted me up with ease and sat me on his lap. I leaned into his chest as he started playing with my hair, and we both gazed into the orange and pinks of the sunset. This was a peaceful, silent twilight, one of those that would be etched into our memories as a part of our ever-lasting relationship, no matter how short or insignificant the evening may seem. This was the kind of memory that needed to stay in my mind forever.


	6. Wedding Night

"Let's get into the water," I asked after the sun set, playfully tugging on Edward's hand. He smiled and obliged, standing up and following me to the ocean. When we got to the point where ocean met sand and water was licking our feet, I stopped and said, "Wait." I peeled off my clothes and threw them away from the water so they wouldn't get wet.

"You'll be the death of me, I swear you will, Isabella Swan," Edward claimed, following suit. I took his hand and led him into the water until it splashed to our chests, and then kissed him passionately.

"As if you weren't tempting enough…" Edward muttered after our kiss was done, lightly touching my chest, then moving his hand down to my waist. He pulled me into his embrace more tightly and kissed my neck. The proximity of his cold body almost made me regret getting into the water, but I just clung onto him even tighter. I didn't want an excuse to get out of the water, no matter how legitimate that reason might be. Edward tilted his head and I could tell he was breathing in my scent again.

"Does that hurt you anymore?" I asked out of concern. I was glad that he was able to bear my scent now without losing control, but he seemed more in control now than he had ever been.

"A little. It's worth it, though." I rolled my eyes. That was my sick masochistic lion. "Besides…it's gotten better since I first met you. It's easier to ignore."

I kissed Edward's hard cheek, and then moved on to his lips. He kissed me back, moving his tongue playfully with mine. The kiss lasted maybe a minute before he stopped it.

Giving me his crooked smile, he said, "Now, _that_ is still difficult for me to handle."

"Just one more kiss," I asked of him.

Edward's eyes lightened and he obeyed my wish, though only for another minute. "Bella…if it's still difficult for me to even kiss you, how do you expect us to get any further?" he debated after our kiss was finished.

"I trust you," I told him for what could have been the millionth time.

"You _shouldn't_. That's the problem. I don't want you to be too trusting and—"

"Edward, if I could choose whose hands that I die by, I would choose you. I'd rather die in your arms than, I don't know, falling off a cliff or something."

He scowled. "That's appalling. Don't say things like that to me."

I leaned my head into his chest. "I'm sorry, Edward. I'll stop upsetting you," I promised.

"Of all the things we could talk about…" he muttered. I looked up at his face and saw that he was gazing at the sky. "Look at how beautiful the stars are out here."

I turned around, making sure to keep Edward's arms around my waist. "You've lived a long life—I'm sure you've seen even more beautiful."

He chuckled. "You're right. And she's in my arms right now."

I smiled and, naturally, blushed. In retrospect I thought he would have countered my "long life" comment, but of course he found a way to twist my words into a compliment. I touched his hand gingerly and pried it from my body to kiss it. I held the pale stony hand to my face and closed my eyes as the waves crashed over our bodies. My eyes met the full moon, and the absolute perfection of this moment started to sink in. I sunk my toes into the sand, trying to feel everything I could so I could preserve these precious moments in my memories with as much clarity as possible.

"It's going to get cold soon…" Edward said hesitantly. I splashed my hand in the water. It was still warm from the sunshine all day.

"It's not cold now."

Edward chuckled and rubbed my arms. "You're getting goose bumps, Bella."

I sighed; although the goose bumps were from Edward and not the water, I couldn't really deny that I was cold when my body was giving me away so easily like that.

"Come on. I'll bundle you up in blankets to warm you up," Edward told me, taking my hand and leading me out of the water. As if I really wanted to be wrapped up in blankets, as if I wanted barriers between my body and Edward's.

We put on our clothes when we reached the shore, not bothering to dry ourselves off beforehand, having brought no way to dry ourselves, anyway. Edward smiled at me with his crooked smile. "I bet I can dry you off quickly," he said playfully.

"Okay," I said, and allowed him to pick me up and run me to the house. I closed my eyes and leaned my head into his chest for the short ride; though I was used to this form of travel, it never hurt to follow these measures.

Edward gently set me down onto the ground and extracted the key to the house from his pocket, then unlocked and opened the door and we walked inside. I could still feel the salt in my clothes, but, not surprisingly, his plan had worked, and I was dry.

"Are you warmer now?"

"Edward…I wasn't that cold in the first place."

He looked confused. "What? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was only getting goose bumps because of the temperature of your skin."

He frowned. "Oh. Well, Bella…I didn't want you out there if you were uncomfortable—but if you felt fine…"

"It's okay. Not a big deal."

His lips turned into a weak smile and he said, "Okay." His smile strengthened a little. "We can go to the beach later. We're spending an entire week here, after all."

I returned his smile and took his hand. "Of course we can. Come on. Let's go see our room."

Edward nodded and led me to the back of the house. The room we entered was simply beautiful, as I had expected. A bed with big, soft covers was placed in the middle of a wall, big enough for the two of us though I knew Edward would not actually sleep in it. The walls were white, with soft decorations lining the top to add a little elegance, and the furniture was crafted from cherry wood—the perfect shade of brown for this quiet room.

"Carlisle and Esme don't actually use this bed, do they?" I asked, finding it difficult to understand why there would be a bed in a house of people that didn't sleep.

"No…they had it put in for you. They might keep it here, just to have it…but no, they don't use it."

"What do they do all night when they're here, since they don't sleep?"

Edward sat down on the bed and sat me down next to him. "Oh…I don't know. They might go out for swims, maybe hunt a little. After a while you find that there's a lot more to distract yourself than you would think."

An odd and sudden idea appeared in my head. "Could you walk on the bottom of the ocean, if you wanted to?"

Edward chuckled. "In theory, we could. I've never tried it. It certainly would be interesting. Think of all the things we could discover if we did—things you petty humans could never discover," he jested.

I laughed with him, then got serious and hugged his arm. I kissed his cheek and said, "I thought you were going to bundle me up."

He smiled. "Of course I'm going to." Kissing my forehead, he tucked me under the covers and wrapped the sheets around me. "Are you actually cold?"

I giggled. "No. It's just the right temperature in this house, actually."

"Well, then…" He loosened up the covers a bit and gathered me in his arms. "How about now?"

"The covers are thick, Edward…"

He kissed my lips softly. "Good. I can hold you as much as my heart desires. And your scent isn't nearly as prominent underneath all those materials."

"So it's a win-win situation, then." _Except for the fact that you won't give me more than just a kiss._

"Yes, love, it is." He kissed the top of my head, and I tried to not get frustrated. This was our honeymoon, after all. There was no point in tainting it with thoughts of things we weren't going to do for now. _Patience_, I told myself. I took a deep breath and moved over to the side of the bed as an indication that Edward should lie next to me. He understood the request and did as I wished. _I should be thankful just to have you,_ I told myself.

He kissed me, passionately, for quite longer than any of our other kisses to prove that he was trying his best to make me happy. Every time he tried to prove himself to me like that, it just reminded me even more that he was the best thing that had ever happened to me.

"Thank you," I blurted out when we pulled away from each other.

The crooked smile lit up Edward's face. "For what?"

"Do you remember when you first met me?" I asked.

Edward stroked my arm lovingly. "Yes…"

"You said you didn't want us to even be friends, that it would be bad for my health…" I paused, dreaming a bit. "Being with you has been the most incredible thing that's ever happened to me. The best for me."

"Mmm…I still often wonder how healthy it is for you to be with me, of course. But I am selfish beyond reason—I could not let you go if I tried. As I proved once before."

"Twice," I corrected.

He mulled that over for a second then agreed. "Twice," he repeated.

"Thank you for staying with me," I whispered, then kissed his chest lightly.

"I couldn't possibly stay away from you."

I grinned like the Chesire cat. "That means the world to me."

He smiled back at me—my usual crooked smile. I kissed him again, enjoying myself despite the fact that we weren't going to go too far out of his comfort zone. When I thought about it, that was perfectly fine. He already believed he was putting me in harm's way and he didn't want to increase that risk anymore. Realizing this fact, I leaned my head on his chest and closed my eyes.

In this heaven, could anything go wrong?


	7. Didn't See That One Coming

Our honeymoon lasted one glorious week; it had been the first time that Edward and I had been isolated together, I had realized about halfway through it. Wedded bliss did not have nearly the magical intensity behind its wording that could do that isolation we had shared together justice.

Arriving in Forks again as a married couple was a feeling that was both surreal and beautiful. I had never imagined what it would be like to be married, and now that thought did not terrify me. Edward had reassured me of the sanctity of marriage, taking away the fear that had been ingrained within me. No moment with him was dull or dreadful, and I could see my wedding vows unfolding before my eyes. Somehow I knew I hadn't really been doubting us all along, after all.

We pulled into the driveway of my house just in time to have dinner with Charlie—I had promised him that I would keep in touch despite being married. It was bad enough that Charlie would have to go back to living alone, and he had hinted that it would break his heart to lose me after finally managing to keep his only daughter for only a few years.

Edward opened the car door like a gentleman and held out his hand. I placed my hand in his and we walked to the door. I was still on cloud nine after spending so much time with Edward, and it was almost difficult to believe that I would have this heaven forever.

Edward put his hand on the doorknob, but paused before opening the door. Chuckling, he told me, "Charlie bought food from the diner for us and he's hoping that you won't notice that he didn't actually cook the meal." He leaned on the door with a thoughtful look on his face, but straightened up and said, "Sorry. My mind is easily distracted."

"I want to know what's on your mind..." I asked bashfully.

He smiled. "Later. For now you need some food. Our plane flights have made this a long day for you, I'm sure, and a relaxing dinner should make things better."

I returned his smile and he opened the door to let me in. Imagine, having an unlocked door in these modern times. It was one of the few—nay, one of the only—good things about living in a small town. Everyone knew everyone and the place was so small that it was unlikely that anyone with foul intent would cross this place.

Charlie seemed excited to see us, but was silent. It was odd, because I could only imagine the thoughts that were running through his mind about what Edward and I had done on our honeymoon, even though it had not been the typical honeymoon that most couples would share after their wedding day. Edward would probably have an interesting meal, listening to Charlie's thoughts. My only hope was that Edward would not feel guilty for not doing what Charlie expected. He had more than replaced my disappointment the first night with a cornucopia of love and kisses for the rest of the week. Only someone who had lived for over a hundred years could learn how to love someone so thoroughly...

The dinner was just as Edward had predicted: steak and fries. Charlie had even managed to keep it warm, which I thought was an accomplishment for him. I devoured my food, while Edward ate slowly and politely. I snuck a few fries from Edward's plate every now and then when Charlie wasn't looking to lessen the amount of food that he had to pretend to eat.

About halfway through the meal, Charlie finally managed to find some words to say to break the silence. "So..." he started awkwardly. "How are you two doing?"

I chuckled nervously. "Fine, Dad."

"We had quite an eventful honeymoon," Edward broke in. "We went to Hawaii, but there was so much to experience on the island that we barely had time for anything else. Luaus, dolphin watching, those kinds of things. We were pretty much exhausted by the end of the day every day."

Charlie grunted. "Mmhmm."

In other words, he didn't buy it for a minute.

"Hawaii is such a beautiful place, especially this time of year."

Charlie grunted again. "So I've heard."

This was just getting awkward. It almost felt as if Edward was _trying_ to make this dinner tread along as slowly as possible. However, he got the hint that the atmosphere was not what he had hoped to accomplish, and did not continue speaking.

Charlie was silent for a few moments, then tried again. "Do you like the food?"

I smiled in an attempt to lighten the mood of the table. "It's great. You did an amazing job."

He chuckled, blushing slightly. "Actually, it's from the diner," he confessed.

"That's okay," I reassured him. "Dad, you shouldn't even be let near the kitchen anyway. Getting food from the diner is probably the best bet for you."

He laughed at that comment and I felt the tension melting away. Hopefully he would try to not think about me and Edward having sex—it was just awkward wondering what he was wondering.

Although the laugh had been a good means of easing the tensions between the three of us, neither Charlie nor Edward spoke for the rest of the meal. I was thankful for that, though. It bothered me that Charlie resented Edward so much, even though I understood his reason for it. I just found it hard to not be perturbed by him hating the one that was perfect in my eyes.

The meal did not drag on as long as I had imagined it would, but we decided to stay afterwards for the game that was on.

"Bella, if you want to watch something else..."

"No, Dad, I'm fine with basketball," I told him. I was going to be sitting next to Edward, after all. I almost felt guilty for thinking that right when the thought came into my head.

"Alice came by when you were gone to pick up a few of your things. Told me the rest of the Cullens had gotten you a nice place to live."

I nodded, but Edward interjected.

"Actually, Charlie, I'm sorry, but we better leave." The statement was a bit out of character for him, since Edward usually did not speak unless it was necessary. I noticed that Edward's cell phone was in his hand; he seemed to have received a message without me noticing. I observed his facial expression, and he truly did seem regretful.

Charlie seemed disappointed by the request. "_You_ could leave, and _I_ could spend some time with my daughter," he retorted.

Edward seemed taken aback. "I'm sorry, Charlie, but this is urgent." He glimpsed the infuriated expression on my father's face and changed his mind.

"You're absolutely right, Chief Swan. I'll come back around ten to pick Bella up." He turned to me and kissed my cheek.

"Have a good time with your father," he said stiffly and walked out of the door quickly, not even providing me the opportunity to ask what was wrong.

Charlie grunted. "That's not too surprising."

"Dad!" I complained. "I know you don't like him, but could you at least try to be a bit more polite to him? He's always a gentleman to you!"

He seemed a little ashamed, but at the same time not very regretful. "Sorry," he apologized.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I really do care so much about him."

"I know," he said reluctantly.

"Let's just watch some basketball," I said, sitting down on the couch.

Charlie sighed and sat down next to me, then turned on the television. The game had already started; so far Charlie's favorite team was in the lead. I ended up not paying much attention to the game though; I was too distracted with Edward's urgent leave from my house. So many questions ran across my mind. Was something wrong with one of the Cullens? Had more vampires come to attack us? Had some kind of conflict arisen between the Quileute tribe and the Cullen family?

I was thankful when the evening had come to an end, though I felt guilty for not paying more attention to the game or Charlie. He said goodbye to me sadly, asking me to make sure to visit again sometime. I nodded half-heartedly, though I was trying not to look rushed.

Edward waited patiently for me outside with the knowledge that Charlie was not intent on seeing him. He held open the car door for me and then got back into the driver's seat as I closed my door.

"What's wrong?" I asked when he started up the car.

Edward was silent for a second. "Alice had a vision. She's not sure what it means, though."

Confused, I asked, "Not sure what it means? How can she not know what it means?"

"Her visions can be very unclear sometimes. She wouldn't have worried about it, but…" Edward paused, trying to get the words out. "It was about you," he finally finished.

We arrived to the house in about five minutes, and Edward rushed me inside. "I want to know if you can make some sense of what Alice has seen," he told me.

"Edward, if you can't figure it out, how could I? If it was so unclear, how can you even guarantee that it was something to be alarmed about?"

"Bella, with your luck I can guarantee you it was something to be alarmed about."

"But Alice could have predicted our wedding. It's not always something bad."

He was unmoved by that opinion. "Alice knows at least the tone of what she saw. She wasn't sure of what she saw but she knows she saw something bad."

My stomach started turning from the idea of yet another horrifying event occurring to me.

"You don't have any idea how much I blame myself for this," Edward muttered, pain etched across his face.

"Edward…"

"Don't try to console me. Your life was completely normal before you met me. It's only because you've been meddling with vampires that you're getting into trouble now. If you had decided to be with Jacob…" Edward shook his head.

"No…I couldn't be with Jacob. I love _you_," I told him in an attempt to comfort him. I couldn't live my life without Edward. And I blamed myself as much as he blamed himself when I ended up in bad situations. It wasn't his fault that I had horrible luck.

He shook his head again. "Everyone is in the kitchen," he said stiffly.

I put my arm around his waist and he walked me to the kitchen, where all the Cullens were gathered discussing Alice's vision. I imagined they had been doing this since Edward had arrived, three hours earlier. Was I really worth all this trouble? I know that Edward had waited decades for me, but I felt guilty for taking up all their time.

It's okay, Bella, I told myself. They have a lot of time on their hands. Still, though—I didn't believe I was worth all the worry. I just told myself that the worry now would save the trouble of fighting off other vampires later.

Rosalie glared at me when I sat down at the table, unsurprisingly. Emmett put his arm around her shoulder and embraced her, then kissed her cheek as an attempt to calm her down, or at least keep her from looking at me so evilly.

Everyone else stopped talking when I sat down, giving Alice the opportunity to share her vision with me. She took a deep breath, readying herself.

"As I'm sure Edward has told you, I've gotten a rather startling vision of you." She paused a second before continuing, "It's not entirely clear—the only thing we can decipher is that they're about you…and that you may be in danger." She frowned. "Or, you may not be. We can't tell."

I didn't really know what to say to that. "Is there anything I can do?" I finally managed.

She shook her head. "I don't know. I don't understand any of it. It's difficult to say that there is anything you can do."

"Well…" I started, wanting to at least try to help out. "What was your vision?"

"It's so difficult to understand…It was you, but you were…different. It kind of came in pieces—you were in a jail cell, then it looked as if you were dead. But there was something else…something that said you weren't really dead."

Maybe she shouldn't have told me that after all. I put as much thought into as I could, but could not figure it out. Alice hadn't somehow seen the afterlife, had she? That seemed silly.

"We thought maybe it was you being changed."

"We think someone may try to kill you," Edward said bluntly. I noticed he was acting very aloof—he was blaming himself. I tried to take his hand, but he rejected it. "And that they'll be unsuccessful and one of us will have to change you to save your life."

"That might not be it, Edward," Alice tried to reassure him.

"Oh, who are we kidding‽" he asked angrily and stormed out of the room.

Alice looked regretful. "I'm sorry for telling both of you this—but it was necessary. No one wants you in danger."

"I just wish Edward would be a little less hard on himself."

"Well, he wouldn't be if you had just left him alone," Rosalie snapped. "If you would stop putting our family in danger."

I scowled. "Is it really my fault that everyone is deciding to attack me?"

"If it's another coven of vampires, then yes, it is your fault. Your kind isn't supposed to mingle with ours."

I wasn't in the mood for arguing with her anymore. "I'm going to go see how Edward is doing," I said, rising from my seat and making sure to meet Rosalie's glare.

Edward was in his room, dramatic classical music blaring as he gazed out his window. I turned the volume on the stereo down a little bit and put my arms around his waist.

"If you shut me out, you'll regret it if something does happen to me," I reminded him.

"I can't live with myself always putting you in danger," he muttered just loud enough that I could hear him.

"I can't live with myself always letting you take the blame for me being in danger," I retorted.

He sighed. "Bella, love...You deserve someone who can keep you safe."

"Either way, I know that vampires exist and someone _will_ come after me for that."

"I never should have let it get this far. I never should have told you that you were right about us."

"Well you did and we can't change that now."

"I regret it so much…"

"Edward, if I'm going to die, then do you really want our last moments together to be filled with regret? Don't you just want to enjoy us being together?"

"It will be tainted with the knowledge that you will die because of me," he said through gritted teeth.

"I wasn't fully living before I met you. I've come to realize that…"

"Stop trying to comfort me."

"Edward, you changed my life completely—"

"For the worse."

I sighed. He was not letting me through at all. I just held him tighter and cuddled into his cold hard side in the last attempt I could think of to make him feel better. It seemed to work a little, since he moved me in front of his body and wrapped his arms around me. I could still almost feel his pain, but at least I was getting somewhere. Edward rubbed my arm softly. I looked to the doorway and saw Jasper standing there, calming Edward down. He was probably giving Edward some information as an excuse to stand in the room so he could use his powers over him.

"Feel a little better?" I whispered after Jasper left, head turned back to looking at the window.

"Just a little." Edward let go of me and turned to turn off the stereo.

"Let's go home. I'm sure you're tired, love."

I nodded and took his hand. Edward still seemed incredibly solemn, but he was willing to touch me now, at least.

"I'm not taking any chances, though," he said. "We're bringing an escort with us."

I nodded again and we headed downstairs. Emmett was waiting for us, not surprisingly. I tried not to smile at the idea of this huge, muscular man escorting us to our house. He would be perfect to shred anyone who tried to attack me, but he was just a huge teddy bear when he was not on the defense.

Emmett cracked his knuckles, serious. "Come on, guys, let's go," he said. Edward hoisted me onto his back and the two vampires ran to the small cabin in the woods.

When we got to the cabin, Edward gently lowered me to the ground and unlocked the door. "Stay here," he told me, and I kept my ground next to Emmett. He went inside, and Emmett said,

"He's just scouting the place out for anyone—didn't want to leave you out here all alone, but didn't want to bring you in there with him if there is anyone in there."

I nodded, glad for the precaution, especially if it made Edward feel better.

Edward was out in less than a minute, saying, "It's alright, there's no one here. I can't hear anyone's mind, either. Emmett, you can go."

Emmett nodded. "You know where we are if you guys need us, bro."

"Of course," Edward said and led me inside. He led me to our bedroom and laid me on the bed.

"Now sleep tight, my love," he said to me, and kissed my cheek. I closed my eyes, and amazingly, I fell asleep quickly.


	8. The Italian Mafia

Edward and I ended up going to the main house the next morning after I ate breakfast. Apparently Alice had had another vision, and for whatever reason she felt the need to share it with me. In reality, I think the rest of the Cullens just wanted to make sure that I was still alive and breathing-though they were sure to know about it if I wasn't.

Carlisle met us with a solemn expression on his face when we arrived, but led us straight to Alice. She squeezed me in her embrace and started telling me her vision.

"The Volturi are coming. I saw all of us sitting at a table, and then a battle broke out. I couldn't hear what we were discussing, but it seemed pretty serious. Bella..." Alice paused, biting her lip. It was clear that she didn't want to say what she was thinking. Finally, she got the words out. "It may be how you die."

I stood in shocked silence. The Volturi were after me to kill me? I thought they had believed that I would be an asset to the vampire world, or at least too valuable to murder. But battles have two sides...

"Was it intentional or accidental?" I asked.

"I...I'm not sure." Her stance showed how uncertain she felt. "I know we would never intentionally hurt you. Surely we'd be more careful than to let any harm come to you. I could be certain that it was the Volturi, but for some reason I have a shadow of doubt."

"Either way, it doesn't make sense," Carlisle interjected. "The Volturi have a prolonged sense of time. They requested that you be turned soon, but soon to them should be twenty, thirty years from now." He shook his head. "Not now. It just doesn't make sense."

"I'll kill the whole lot of them," Edward said through gritted teeth. There was an intensity there that I had never seen from him: his voice sounded different-rougher in his anger. It frightened me, but gave me an idea.

"What if it's a misunderstanding?" I looked at Edward's angry expression. "What if you guys are just assuming that the Volturi are after me and someone loses their temper because in the middle of the conversation they were just thinking 'Get it out with,' but it was never supposed to come?"

"A self-fulfilling prophecy," Edward muttered under his breath. "But suppose they _are_ thinking about killing you, Bella? What then?"

"Either way, we have to prepare," Carlisle answered.

"How so? How do you keep a vampire out?" Edward laughed without humor.

Carlisle tapped his lobe. "Mind games. By keeping Bella locked away, and her scent in deceiving places. At least by making things difficult for them."

"They don't give up easily," Edward snapped, frustrated.

"Edward Anthony Masen! Do you want to try to save your wife from the Volturi, or don't you?"

He looked into his father's eyes with determination. "Of course I do. I'm sickened that you would even question me."

"Then we can convince them to stay away from her. We can do _something_." He sighed."You two should stay here for the time being. Speaking of time..." Carlisle turned to Alice. "How much time to we have?"

"I...I don't know. I've never had any problems like this before. MY visions have been so blurry lately, and in pieces."

"Are you sure it's really a vision?" I asked.

"I'm positive. There's nothing in my mind to make me doubt that it was a vision." She shrugged. "This has never happened before, but I know that this is my gift at work and not something else."

If she had difficulty coming up with an explanation, there was no way I was going to be able to. After all, they knew their world better than I did. "All right, then. Is there anything I can do to help prepare?"

Edward, I could tell, was about to say no and hide me as quickly as possible but Carlisle opened his mouth before Edward had the opportunity to. "Actually, yes, there is." He pulled out a small box that was stuffed with clothing. "I think if they try to hunt for you, putting your scent on these-"

"Would piss them off more," Edward completed. He shrugged when Carlisle threw him a stern look. "It will only make them more determined. Why don't we just send Bella somewhere, no tricks?"

"They will know. We still have to throw them off-to stall them."

Edward nodded in agreement, wrapping his arm around me. "Fine. If only to stall them." He gazed off in no particular direction, thinking about who knows what. Carlisle patted him on the shoulder, turned, and picked up a jacket from the box.

"Your scent is strong-this should work fairly well," he thought out loud.

"It worked minimally when James was tracking her. The Volturi have had decades more experience to hone their tracking abilities."

"Edward," Carlisle said severely. "We can try."

Edward held me closer and kissed the top of my head. "I'm doing everything I can to save you, Bella," he muttered.

"Good." I leaned down to the box and picked up a shirt, then rubbed it on my neck so it could adopt the scent. Edward decided to follow suit, picking up another article and rubbing it on my wrist.

"We could pick some stuff up from the cabin, too, if that would help," Alice chimed in.

"Anything will help," Carlisle agreed. Alice took off running to our little cabin, and was back within seconds.

"These are very strong," she said. "I'll go leave a trail."

"If your scent is with it, they'll know it's a trick," Edward objected. "Perhaps we should retrieve a few of the wolves?" He looked to me as he said that.

I shook my head. "No. Jacob would hate you even more if he knew I was in trouble again. And I don't think vampires should be on their land."

"They'll certainly be confused if they end up on werewolf territory."

"Those boys don't know how to defend themselves against vampires."

"They have fought the Volturi before."

"With you guys. I don't know if they could do it all alone. And what if the Volturi got thirsty and decided to have one of them for a meal?"

"Then let's hope that meal is Jacob," he muttered. I elbowed him in his waist-a lot of good that did-but he seemed to get the point.

"And I couldn't stand to have Jacob hate you guys anymore than he already does. He would be so upset if he knew I was in trouble again."

Edward snorted, and though I knew what his retort would be, he did not say anything. He glanced into my eyes. "I apologize, Bella. I'm under a lot of stress right now, as I'm sure you can understand."

"I forgive you," I said quietly and continued rubbing my scent onto the clothes. Halfway through, I asked, "Where are we going to lead them? We can't lead them into the city."

"No, of course not, Bella!" Carlisle objected. "This area is surrounded by forest, and we have certain areas where we hunt that are completely unpopulated. We'll lead them there."

"Either way...if they come hunting for me and don't find me, I'll be in danger. If they want me that badly, they'll keep searching."

"We'll just hope for the best. This is purely for the off-chance that the Volturi _do_ decide to go after you. When they give up, they will come back here and we will try to speak to them once more."

My question was, what if they got too frustrated and decided to just rip one of the Cullens to shreds, anyway? I didn't voice that opinion, fearing that I had asked too many questions, anyway. What we needed now was a heaping serving of faith...

"I think most of our scents are with you, anyway, Bella," Alice thought out loud. "Besides, it _did_ work a little with James. I'm just going to make a few trails with this-hopefully it will take them a while to figure it out."

I nodded. There wasn't really much else we could do. I finished rubbing my scent onto the last of the clothing and put it down onto the pile. "Why do we need so many of these, anyway?" I asked.

"Just so we could have more of your scent, and so we can split up." Carlisle distributed the clothing amongst the rest of his family, excluding Edward. "You stay here and watch over her."

Edward nodded, and the rest of the family took off. "I can only hope that this is going to work," he muttered. "We should send you off somewhere, not stay here and wait. We can go to Isle Esme."

"We'd have to tell Carlisle first. So he doesn't worry when he comes back and we're gone..."

He nodded stiffly and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed Carlisle's number, and the doctor responded quickly.

"Is there something wrong?" I heard him ask urgently.

"No, Carlisle. Bella and I are going to leave Forks. Is it alright if we go to Isle Esme?"

Carlisle paused, thinking. "Yes...I suppose that would be a good idea. It's isolated enough, at least," I heard him say on the other line.

"Thank you." Edward hung up and took my hand. We were going back to Isle Esme.

* * *

Edward made his way through the airport with a little bribery and his dazzling charm-I don't think I ever saw a ticket exchanging hands. The whole thing seemed rushed and a blur, but I felt better when we were on the island. At least here I would be safe for a little while.

"Do we have even a hint as to why the Volturi are after me so quickly?" I asked Edward when we had arrived inside the little house on the island.

He shook his head. "This is completely out of character for them."

I sat still, pensive. This was so frustrating. No one in the family believed that the Volturi were behaving in the interests of consistency with their actions. I was still intent on the possibility that Alice had not had a vision, though there was nothing to support that hypothesis.

"Bella, you need to speak out loud," Edward demanded, meeting my eyes with his.

"I don't have anything to say out loud."

"I'm used to hearing people's thoughts. I don't have that luxury with you. Tell me what you're thinking."

I sighed and said what was on my mind. "What if Alice hasn't been having visions? What if someone's been messing with her mind?"

"Like what Jane can do, but with pictures?"

I nodded. "I guess that's the best comparison."

"I don't know."

"Why not? Why hasn't anyone else considered that?"

"It's just that..." He shook his head. "I can't explain to you why I don't think that's what's happening. I guess it's because it's not just a thought in her mind. She acts exactly as she would act when she is getting a vision."

"Hm." I bit my lip, browsing around the room for something to do.

"Carlisle trying to throw the Volturi off is just not going to work," Edward contemplated. "They are far too good at tracking, and if he tries to say that you went one way when you actually didn't, they'll know he's lying."

"So what's he trying to do?"

"Drive them insane?" he scoffed. "I don't think he knows what he's doing. And I've never said that about Carlisle."

"Everyone is acting strangely, Edward. Even you..."

"I'm just upset that you may be dead in my arms at any moment. I'm stressed." He looked as if tears could fall from his eyes at any moment. "I can't handle the thought of you not being in my life."

He was desperate now, I could tell. There _was_ one thing that could save me from that fate, though.

"So why don't you just change me now?" I asked.

Edward stared, considering. He didn't move for a few moments; I couldn't imagine the mess of thoughts that were running around in his head in those moments. He parted his lips, ready to say something, but closed them and sat next to me. At last, he spoke.

"I can't do that. Not now. I...What if I don't have the constraint? There is no one here to stop me. I can't take that risk."

"But-"

"No," he interrupted. "Remember what you said earlier about us losing control over something the Volturi said, and inadvertently killing you in the process because of that? I can't let you die by my hands. I can't let Alice's vision be that the Volturi were upset that I had murdered you and that was why they attacked." He shook his head. "I just can't have that."

In my opinion, it was better for me to die by his hands accidently than to die by the Volturi's hands maliciously. At the same time, though, I didn't want him to have that on his conscience. I put my arms around my husband and kissed his cheek. "I understand," I told him.

He nodded, but buried his face in his hands. "I can't believe this is going to happen."

"It might not. I'm sure Jasper will manage to make them change their minds."

He shook his head. "I just don't know."

I rubbed my hand on his back in an attempt to comfort him, and we sat and waited in anticipation for anything-anything-to happen.


	9. Anticipation

Nothing happened.

The island was hauntingly still for the next week or so, but I suppose it really only seemed that way because Edward wouldn't allow me to even think about leaving the modest house in the jungle. He watched over me like a hawk, not even allowing me to trip. He checked each food obsessively to make sure that none of it was poisoned, rotten, or expired, and would take no chances whatsoever. Every time I tried to cook, he would hover over me needlessly, making sure that I didn't burn myself and turning the heat off on the stove immediately after I was finished. Before I went to sleep, he double checked the house for anyone who may have somehow snuck in during the day, and to make sure that the burners and oven and such were turned off. If there had been any televisions, I'm sure he would have unplugged those as well, but he kept lamps on so that nothing could suddenly attack. It wasn't as if he wouldn't know within seconds if something was burning or if someone had snuck in, anyway, though. The precautions seemed to be a bit uncalled for, but since they made Edward a tad less uneasy, I tried not to complain about them.

About a week or so of all these measures, however, I began to get frustrated.

"Edward, let's get out of the house," I begged. "I want to see some sunlight."

"You can see the sunlight from in here," he retorted, sitting with rigid posture on the couch. He was probably searching for any thoughts within the island. "Just open a window."

"I want to see the way your skin sparkles in the sun."

He looked up at me with regret in his eyes, finally breaking his concentration. "I'm so sorry, Bella. I've been tormented with what Alice foresaw, and you're absolutely correct. If these are our last moments together—as painful as it may be—I should be bending to your every last wish. So it was worthwhile."

I smiled. Edward held out his hand, and I took it gladly. It was wonderful to feel his smooth, cold skin in a gesture of romance instead of protection after what seemed like such a long time.

We walked outside, and I almost didn't understand why Edward was being so paranoid here on this little isolated island. The house was under complete cover of trees, and probably would have been difficult to find had I not known where it was. In fact, I probably wouldn't be able to find it without Edward. This question was answered when I remembered that vampires were the perfect predators: perfect sight, perfect senses, and then some. If a vampire wanted to find you, all they needed was a start and you would be found.

Edward held my hand more tightly than he normally would, but I found it hard to not be thankful for the touch. I just kept reminding myself that he was bound to be even more paranoid outside the safety of the house, and if he would just loosen up a little, that would be an accomplishment.

Finally—I had never realized how far in the house really was, since Edward always ran me there—the two of us were no longer under the cover of trees. I looked subtly over to my husband standing next to me. He was looking down in either shame or concentration, but I couldn't tell from the angle of his face. I turned my head more so that I could tell what was going on with his facial expression, but still couldn't see much. His head was turned away from me, but looking slightly down—strange, really.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No," he answered, then slowly met my eyes. "I was just a bit distracted. Trying to make sure that there is absolutely no one here."

"And?"

"All clear."

"Good." I attempted to release my hand from his tight grip, but to no avail. "Edward?"

He kept eye contact with me, pleading. "Don't let go of my hand, Bella."

I wasn't sure if I should be touched by that or worried for my own safety, so I just chose touched. I told myself that Edward was finally giving in to my wishes: that if I died, I died with as many good memories as I could possibly manage. It may not have been the case, but it made me worry a bit less about him.

Maybe he was right about me. Maybe there was something wrong with my brain. I was the one that was supposed to die, and I was worried about him, my vampire, indestructible husband. Made perfect sense.

"Are we going to go into the water?"

A small noise of worry escaped his mouth. "I can't take any chances," he told me. "Your scent is so strong…even more so when you take your clothes off. I'm not taking that risk."

And since he still had a death grip on my hand, there was no way I was going to try to physically defy him.

"Don't you think the water will at least cover me up enough so that—"

"Bella." He gave me a stern look, but there was trepidation and sadness in his eyes. His face, for the first time, was hurting me more than it soothed me. I hated all of this pain that the vision was causing him. He noticed the slight change in my demeanor and reminded me softly, "I can't read your mind."

"Please, stop worrying about me so much. I can't stand to see you like this. I know that you want me to be safe, and I don't know how you would react to be…not being around anymore. But I can't have my last moments be of your misery."

"If you die, I die. I will guarantee you that. And, I don't want our last moments to be miserable. I want them to be happy, without the taint of the possibility that it was me who created those last moments."

"I don't want us to have last moments."

He paused, wanting to use his usual speech about how I shouldn't be begging to be the kind of monster that he is, but it didn't come. "I don't want that, either," he whispered.

"So change me now."

"I've told you once before why I won't do that here."

"Here?" With that condition, we could go back to Forks and have the rest of the Cullens there for backup.

Instead of accepting that as another possibility, Edward groaned menacingly. "Bella! I want you to live—_I want you to live, don't you understand that_‽" he shouted in frustration.

"I want to live, too! Of course I do! If dying means being without you, I couldn't possibly handle death. But you're worrying entirely too much. Alice's visions are based on decisions—"

"Yes. Yes, they are. And if my decision to go back to Forks leads to disaster, I could never forgive myself!"

I swallowed, holding back tears. "I understand."

Regret instantly washed over Edward's face, and he took me in his arms. "I'm sorry that I'm shouting at you. I—I can't…"

"I know." I buried my head in his cold stony chest, willing myself not to cry. The tears, though he had misinterpreted them, came from mixed feelings of the guilt I was feeling for worrying him so much and from admiration of his relentless love for me.

Edward ran his fingers through my hair gently, soothingly. "I would get into the water with you…to prove to you that I agree with you and if something does happen, then our last moments together should be the best…but I know when an action is foolish. I don't know how far-reaching your scent is. Even if the Volturi are in Forks…if Aro were to read Carlisle or Esme's thoughts and find out about this place, the closer they come to this place, the more obvious it will be that you are here."

"Then why don't we go somewhere else? Somewhere they won't suspect?"

"Yes...This place is so isolated, though—"

"But they will suspect it."

"You're absolutely correct," he admitted.

"Then let's leave."

The wheels in his head started turning; he obviously believed that this was a good idea but with some complications. "What about your clothes? No…we can buy new clothes…it's better that way," he thought out loud. After sorting out any other problems that he might have thought of, he finally said, "Yes. It's perfect. Why did I not think of this before? I suppose I was too frazzled…trying to find the best place where you would be comfortable and isolated, yet managing to make that hell for both of us."

"You didn't mean to," I said forgivingly.

"I won't tell you where we're going; in fact, I won't even keep it in my mind. Bear with me, Bella—be patient."

I nodded. "Of course."

He hitched me on his back and ran me to the house. When we arrived there, he took a black bandanna from a miscellaneous drawer and tied it around my head.

"What are you doing?"

"I know that Aro can't read your thoughts, but as a safety precaution, I want to make sure that you have no idea where we're going."

"Doesn't Alice know that you're making this decision?"

"I've made no decisions. I'm not leaving Isle Esme."

"What?" What could he possibly mean by that? He put earplugs in my ears before I could receive an answer or object, then put me on his back and in several hours we were in what was surely even more so the middle of nowhere than Isle Esme.

* * *

"Our new home. Isle Esme," Edward announced, taking off the earplugs and blindfold.

It wasn't Isle Esme. I knew that, it was obvious. Could vampires go insane, I wondered? "Edward…" I started, doubt in my voice.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" The tone in his voice was begging me to please not question him, he knew what he was doing, and that I should go along with his plan and not question him.

"Yes, it is," I told him. As I understood it, I was not to question him where we were, or mention that we weren't actually on Isle Esme. I assumed it was so that the message that was being sent to Alice was that we were still on the island, so if Aro were to read her, Carlisle's, and Esme's thoughts, he would see Isle Esme in some fashion. This was going to be a part of the island that Esme and Carlisle had not yet explored, or that had changed since they last visited.

Edward kissed my ear—the first kiss he had given me in what seemed to be forever. I turned and kissed him passionately on the lips, glad to finally have my Edward back, no matter how strange he might still be acting. My hand celebrated the perfection of his face—his flawless jaw line, his smooth skin… He kissed me back wildly, willing now to make every moment better than any moment we had shared before. This kiss was different than any kiss we had shared before, triumphant almost.

When we pulled out of the kiss, I realized that it was not the kind of triumph that I had believed it was. And I had not been kissing my husband.


	10. Coming To

**Hey all! I know that the last chapter ended on a confusing note--it was supposed to get you to ask what was going on, and I promise you that you _will_ find out why Bella was not kissing Edward in the last chapter. (One of you kinda figured it out...Edward had not been acting himself at all. *hint hint*)  
Also, writing about Edward hunting is, like, uber awkward for me since I'm a vegan and not a hunter and kinda cringe as I write that scene...and I haven't read the books in a while (and I've only read the first chapter of _Midnight Sun_) so I apologize if Mrs. Meyer has described at some point what hunting is like for them and I didn't get it spot on.**

* * *

**Edward's POV**

Bella and I stayed on Isle Esme for about a week, then we got the all-clear to go back to Forks. My family had left to Italy to confront the Volturi before the Volturi were given the chance to pay them a visit, and the Italian vampires had answered with confused looks. Apparently, Alice's vision about the Volturi being after Bella was not meant to come true after all, and we concluded that the vision of Bella's death was most likely not true, either. This was more than welcoming news to me. Now we could relax and enjoy our marriage without any worries. And I didn't have to rush to turn Bella.

I went hunting soon after Bella and I returned from Isle Esme; I had gone longer than usual without hunting and was beginning to test my endurance with the thirst.

I left Bella at Charlie's and went to my usual place—a mountainous forest where I had plenty of places to hide if any humans were to stumble upon me. If I got lucky I might even find some mountain lions here.

This place was so easy for me to come to. It was peaceful. No one's thoughts but my own resided here to ruin the silence. Here, isolated from towns and cities, was one of the few places where that river of noise from others' minds did not interfere with my own thoughts.

Here, I could fantasize about Bella with no interruptions, daydream about the way her soft fragile body draped around mine when she held me as she slept, about the way she muttered my name as she dreamt…I could nearly imagine her sweet flowery scent perfectly, almost to the point that I could swear she was really there. I breathed in reality's air, and smelled my prey. A deer, only yards away. It wasn't mountain lion, but it would do. I was satisfied with whatever would get me home to Bella quicker.

The dear started to run away—shying away from a different kind of predator, no doubt. That was fine with me. It wasn't as if it would have made the hunt any more challenging. I set off at my fastest speed and caught up to the animal in a second. It probably didn't know what had happened to it before I had started sucking it dry.

The blood of the deer was soothing to my fire-ridden throat; the heavenly liquid slid down my throat as a cold cup of ice water would slide down the throat of a human that had been trapped in Death Valley for days. The taste of it sent my into a frenzy comparable to the passion that I felt when I kissed Bella, though I could never allow myself to release all of my emotions around her for fear that I would hurt her. I sucked in deeper—

—and a realization set in. My eyes opened as if awakening from a dream but I could see nothing. Slowly my senses returned to me; colors brightened and sounds intensified. I could see the blueness of the sky, the whiteness of the clouds, the greenness of the leaves in the jungle I was in. A small mammal rested dead in my hands, unidentifiable from the mutilation I had caused it.

Worry broke through my mind immediately as I realized that something horrible had happened. Where was Bella? I thought that I had left Isle Esme for Forks, and that Bella was safe in her old home with Charlie. Now that belief was completely shattered.

I ran to Carlisle's and Esme's house in the middle of the island, wishing that I could hear Bella's thoughts so that I would know sooner whether or not she was safe here on the island.

When I reached the house, my worst fears were confirmed. She was nowhere to be seen, and her scent was not even fresh. How long had I been delusional? I wasn't even aware that vampires could become delusional…

Panic washed over me. If Bella had not come back here to sleep, then where was she? Had she gone off on her own to explore the island, only to become some other creature's midday meal?

Worse, had I made her my midday meal, without even realizing it? The very thought sent sickening chills running through my already cold body.

I explored the island twice, three times, four times, keeping track of even the slightest change in the strength of my wife's scent. Throughout the island, it varied—it was strongest at and near the house since we had spent so much time there, but moderate at the beach since the sand tended to get blown around and distributed it more. There were a few areas that neither of us had visited before that had her scent along with a few unfamiliar scents, but after checking and rechecking those places I was forced to dismiss them from my list of possibilities of where she could be.

After scrounging the island ruthlessly for any signs of my wife, I gave up on the search and headed back to Forks to discuss the matter with my family, still dazed and desperate.

* * *

"Bella has gone missing," I said in one breath to my family as I walked through the door. "Please, please, please, tell me that you know where she is." Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked towards me, shocked expressions on their faces.

"Edward? What are you doing back already?" Esme questioned.

"_Please_ tell me that Bella is here," I begged.

She shook her head. "Bella was with you. She hasn't come back."

"No..." I didn't want to believe it. She had slipped through my fingers so easily, without me even realizing that it had happened at all. Where had I gone wrong? I thought back to the island: we had stayed only days before my family had called and informed me that the Volturi were no threat. That, though, had been only an illusion—how much of the past few weeks had been real?

"Tell me..." I started, sitting down on a chair out of habit. "How long was I gone? Did Alice ever tell us that Bella was in danger?" My hope now was that Alice had not seen anything wrong with Bella...but if my family believed that she was with me, then there was still the possibility that she could be in danger, especially with her luck.

"Edward, what happened to you?" Carlisle inquired, concern etched into his face.

"I...I can't honestly say I know."

He kneeled in front of me, always the doctor, and made eye contact with me. "Alice saw that Bella was in danger from the Volturi, so you and Bella left for Isle Esme. We have been here to wait for them to come.

"I don't think they're coming," I stated.

Carlisle looked confused. "What? Why not?"

"I..." It was so hard to tell him. I could hardly believe it myself. And now...Bella was gone. I gathered my thoughts together and started speaking again. "A few weeks after we left, you called me and told me that you had visited the Volturi, and that they meant no harm. So Bella and I came back to Forks. You guys hadn't come back from Italy yet, so I left Bella at Charlie's house so I could hunt. At least...I _thought_ that that was what had happened."

"You haven't come back until now."

"I realize that now. I was on the island the entire time. I never left."

"Is there any clue as to what may have happened?"

I shook my head. "No idea at all."

"Alice!" Carlisle called.

"Alice's visions aren't working…" I said softly, but the harsh reality of the words did not allow me to say it loud enough for Carlisle to hear me. It didn't matter, anyway. Alice was and probably always would be our best tool to see what would happen to us next.

"Have you had any visions lately? Bella is missing and—"

She shook her head slowly and regretfully. "I haven't seen a thing," she said sadly.

Carlisle's expression turned thoughtful, trying to sort this out. "If Bella were in danger, surely Alice would have seen something…" he eventually mused.

"No. I don't think she would have," I told him.

"Why not?"

"There's something going on here. _Someone_ involved here. Someone who can manipulate either minds or reality."

"But would that affect Bella? Would she be able to fall into that kind of trap?"

"Something odd happened here, Carlisle. Didn't you listen to what I was saying? I thought that I was _here,_ in Forks, when in truth I was still on the island. I don't know for sure whether or not that affected Bella, but I can be certain that it did. If she knew I was acting off, she would have suspected something. She would have called you. She wouldn't have just sat around."

"If Bella was affected by it…"

"And we don't even know what 'it' is!" I groaned in frustration.

"No. We don't. And 'it' may also be affecting Alice."

"Alice?" Her visions weren't working, but did this really imply that it had been someone else causing that?

"Yes…If whoever this is is manipulating reality, it makes perfect sense that her visions are blurry. She's seeing an altered reality."

"Of course. But he couldn't really be manipulating reality if I was able to break out of it, could he?" Am _I broken out of it?_ I questioned myself. It was difficult to tell—this was the kind of reality that I did not want to accept.

"There's _something_ tricky going on here."

"There's no question about that."

"None at all…" Carlisle looked pensive for a few moments, then said, "I wonder if the Volturi are behind this."

"Why would they be?" I asked logically. It_ was_ out of character for them to go after someone so quickly. It should be years before they decide to check up on Bella. That fact made me question the validity of Alice's visions even more.

"Alice's vision—"

"We need to disregard Alice's visions for now." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see by her facial expression that her feelings had been hurt by that suggestion. I touched her shoulder in a sign of comfort. "Just for now. You know that we want with everything in us for your visions to guide us."

She nodded weakly, ashamed that her gift was no longer functioning correctly.

A thought came into my mind from hers: a memory from when she and Bella had gone shopping for Bella's wedding dress. Bella's eyes had met with a stranger's. I remembered the two of them telling us that story, and we had tried to evaluate…

I gasped, alarmed. "Alice? Didn't you say that you and Bella saw another vampire when you went to Seattle?"

"Yes," she whispered, meeting my eyes.

Carlisle made the connection immediately and gasped as well. "My god!" he exclaimed, "You don't think…"

"I do. You've smelled Bella…You know how tempting she smells. Any vampire…" My voice broke. "She…"

"Maybe the Volturi know something about this."

"So we're going to Italy?"

Carlisle nodded. "We're going to Italy."


	11. Question Without Answer

**Whoever finds the references in here (even though they are completely unrelated to _Twilight_) will make me happier than a sack of potatoes. And by that I mean you'll make my day.  
(...it wasn't supposed to make sense...bad sense of humor...)  
(PPS: Yeah, I know...they probably wouldn't be sold in Italy much less be rentals...but HEY, you know what? I just wanted to put it in there. [If you have no idea what I'm talking about, it's no big deal at all--just me fangirling...XD)  
Also...there are some minor details in this chapter that may not match up with details in _Twilight_ (in this case, _New Moon_.)**

* * *

The Volturi. Their name kept running around my head throughout the plane ride, and it ran through my head throughout this slow car ride even more. Eighty-eight miles an hour…couldn't Alice drive any faster? I wanted to know what was happening to my wife, and I wanted to know now. I didn't want my worse case scenarios to be true, any of them. Why did Bella's existence have to be a life-or-death situation?

Italy had changed none in the months that we had been away from it, which made me wonder why on earth the Volturi would come after her so soon after our last visit. Their perception of time was long and drawn out, and to them it should have seemed as if it had been days or hours, not years, that we had last seen each other. I played around with ideas as to what the Volturi could know about this vampire; if they had sent this vampire after Bella to take her away and countless other scenarios ran through my mind. But did they really speculate that she would be so powerful that they could not be without her for much longer, or that she was somehow a danger to our kind? Did it really make any sense that they were somehow involved with Bella's disappearance?

The flood of noise in my head when we entered the city was expected, yet excessively irritating. The crowded streets filled my ears with the chatter of people going about their way, but unlike those people my head was also filled with the chatter of what they meant to say and what they could never say…That was the only fact that made me thankful for my gift at the moment—as irritating as it could be, there was always the off-chance that the Volturi would mess up. If they lied to us out loud, but not in their mind, I would know. And I _would_ be matching their thoughts with their spoken words the entire time I was there.

We finally parked our cars at the outermost extremities of Volterra so that we did not draw too much attention to ourselves by immediately getting out of our car and sliding down the hole that led to the Volturi. It would be much more subtle if we seemed to be strangers to the city, casually walking through the crowd as if we did not know the place by heart.

Alice and Jasper opened their doors simultaneously; their arms moving upward in sync with each other and creating an effect that would have been interesting to see from the outside. Judging from the looks of the passersby, the eighties car may not have been the most inconspicuous vehicle for us to use, after all.

A man rushed up to Jasper, and immediately alarm set in to my mind. However, an instantaneous reading of his mind revealed that he was only interested in the car. I breathed a sigh of relief—What if he had been the vampire we believed had captured Bella? I could not handle being this close to finding out what may have happened and not actually arrive at my destination.

Jasper and Alice closed their car doors, and man and vampire exchanged a few words. Jasper politely pardoned himself, then Alice took his hand and the rest of the family caught up to us. I allowed them to begin walking before I began to walk. The downside to being in the back was that seeing the three happy couples together sent a twinge of pain through my heart. After waiting over 100 years to find someone and finally finding success, it was difficult to let that go. There are things in this world that are certain: Carlisle would be with Esme, Emmett with Rosalie, Jasper with Alice…and I with Bella. For decades, I had assumed that the word "and" would never be associated with me in such a way. I breathed in the sweet Italian air. No, I was determined to find my wife, and I _would_ find her. There needn't be an Edward without Bella.

We seemed to approach the clock tower in the middle of the city with more speed than I had been calculating. I looked to the dark cover where months ago I had stood, readying myself to be killed after I had believed that Bella had committed suicide. I hoped that that rescue would not end up being in vain.

We walked to the slanted alleyway where the Volturi hid their headquarters, walking one by one as it narrowed and not looking back for subtlety's sake. I heard Carlisle move the grate away from the hole, and the sound of it sent back those memories of our visit to the Volturi after Bella had saved me. Anger started flowing through me. If those _animals_ had anything to do with my wife's disappearance...

Jasper looked back to me, feeling my tension. I felt calm wash over me, but I did not resist it. I knew that it was for the best that I was not raging before I walked into the Volturi's residence. There should be no brash decisions made. They might not, after all, be the culprits. I took a deep breath as everyone started sliding down the hole to the Volturi's headquarters.

I easily pulled the grate back over hole as I began sliding down to the cobblestone ground below. I silently laughed to myself when I landed—the ground was wetter than usual, and had Bella been here she surely would have fallen. Immediately after my amusement, though, came a shot of pain. Jasper felt it quickly and calmed me down.

_I know you love her, Edward,_ Jasper said to me in his head, _and if it was Alice, I would be feeling the same way. But we're here only for information, not for a battle. Don't do anything stupid._ He looked back to see my reaction. I nodded in agreement.

We reached the tunnel that would lead us to the Volturi quickly, since we did not need to walk at human speeds anymore. Carlisle gingerly pulled open the rusty gate, then the door behind that, and we walked through to a bright stone room. After travelling through the next room, we reached the large wooden door that would lead us one step closer to the Volturi. I sighed as we entered yet another hallway. The Volturi did not like to make things quick. And I wanted my answers _now_.

* * *

Aro was shocked to see us when we arrived in front of him, but he did not seem unhappy with our visit. "Carlisle Cullen!" he said pleasantly, beaming. "For what reason have I received pleasure of speaking to you this evening?" His eyes flickered toward me and my siblings. "And you brought your family!"

I growled softly under my breath. I wasn't in the mood for his cheery attitude. Jasper threw me a glance and calmed me down. I silenced myself.

"We require some information."

He frowned. "Is there any particular reason why this is a family affair?"

His thoughts were confused; he didn't seem to understand what Carlisle wanted and he didn't seem to be playing any mind games. Yet, at least.

"As you can probably see, we've had a family member go missing recently. In addition to that, strange things have been happening to Edward and Alice, and we'd like to know if you have anything to do with this."

Aro looked over Carlisle's shoulder in my direction to discover who was missing. His interest was piqued. "The human girl who befriended you? I had believed that she was immune to any of our tricks…" He paused for a moment, mulling over what we had just told him. His thoughts were rushed, however, and I wasn't sure what to make of them. Mostly he was remembering the time when we had visited earlier, recalling that each powerful vampire that united here could not have any effect on Bella whatsoever. He looked toward me, cognizant of my actions. So he _would_ be hiding his thoughts. No matter. I would still be prying. There was always the chance of a slipup.

He looked back to Carlisle with that split second timing that allowed no one else but the two of us to be aware that we had made a private exchange. Thoughtfully, he said, "Was she not immune to all of our powers?"

"We had believed that she would be immune to most powers. This doesn't seem to be like anything we've ever seen before…"

Aro nodded toward me. "I'd like to hear your tale, if you'd be so kind," he requested. "Start at the beginning."

"Alice had a vision that your coven was going to come after us, and that you would attack us. She also had a vision that Bella would not live. Naturally, in an effort to protect my wife, I took her away to a place where we would not be found…" I could feel Jasper's gift working me so that I would not begin to worry or rage. "A few weeks after we departed, I received a phone call that the threat had passed, and so I headed back to Forks with Bella. When I arrived, everyone was still here in Italy so I left Bella with her father when I went hunting…soon after my first kill, though, I…" I wasn't sure how to put it into words. "I blacked out, is the best way to put it. And when I woke up, I was holding a different animal than the one I had been hunting. And I realized I had never gone back to Forks. Bella was nowhere to be found."

Aro listened with sincere interest. "I see…" He paused and his look turned to curiosity. "You were passed out? You are not human, Edward."

"No. It was not actual unconsciousness. I don't know how to explain it. It was…it was a snapping out of things. And I realized that everything that happened after leaving Forks had been completely false."

He nodded, frowning. "I see. And you, Alice?"

Alice was standing in a pose that showed her discomfort, no longer her usual perky self without the certitude of her visions. She was thinking about what might have happened to Bella, hoping that there was something that the Volturi could do, and blaming herself for not being able to save Bella before anything happened to her. I wanted to comfort her, but somehow it didn't seem to be the right moment for that. "It's just that, my visions have been acting up lately. They've been blurry and uncertain, and even when I can make them out, they haven't come true. I…I never saw Edward or Bella in trouble. I mean…I did see Bella in trouble, but…" She frowned. "We're just not sure. And, I know that my visions are never one hundred percent certain. They have always been based on decisions. Have you been planning to take Bella away from us?" she asked suddenly and bluntly.

Aro seemed shocked. "No. Why would you accuse us of such a thing?"

There was no contradicting information in his thoughts, and he did seem genuinely confused. Regardless, I stayed tuned into his thoughts. _Admit something…_I begged in my mind.

"That's what we were wondering," Carlisle reasoned. "Then Edward came back with his story and now we don't think that any of Alice's visions are true right now."

_That means that Bella could still be safe_, Carlisle thought for me. I was dubious, though. It was Bella, after all. She would be in danger sitting alone in bed, unmoving, with a full army outside protecting her.

"You do have full intentions of changing her, correct?"

Carlisle nodded. "Yes."

"Then, if you do have plans to change her, I have no reason to come after you. Unless she decides to reveal us."

There was a stillness in the air, with the kind of stiffness that could only be achieved after a horrible realization has been made. Aro seemed to be the only one at ease. He would be perfectly fine with doing away with Bella if she were to reveal the vampire world to anyone—especially if that doing away with meant making her his meal.

"This is now urgent. We don't know what this character is capable of. What if she _does_ reveal us? It would not be intentional. She understands the importance of secreting our world," Carlisle pointed out. "This vampire, if it is a vampire, is strong. It would be in our best interest to find Bella and eliminate him before it is too late."

"I don't know about _eliminating_ him," Aro mused. "If he is that powerful, it would be advantageous to have him on my guard."

"What if he is _too_ strong? What if he tries to overpower you? I'm worried about this, Aro. He's messing with Alice's visions. I've never seen anyone do such a thing. And what Edward told us…I've never heard of such an occurrence. A vampire coming to? It doesn't make sense, even if he says it was more like snapping out of something."

Aro mulled this over. "I would like to meet a vampire with such power. If we need to eliminate him, then so be it, but if such an incident shall not arise, then I want him on my guard."

"So we're agreed that we will team up to find him?"

I wanted to groan, but knew that the Volturi's help would be beneficial. I wasn't going to complain if it brought my love back into my arms.

"Yes," Aro proclaimed.

It might have been Jasper, but somehow I felt a sense of relief wash over me.

* * *

**The next chapter might take a little longer for me to post...I've gotta find out how I'm gonna plan the next parts of this story out—plus I need to reread through some parts of _New Moon_ and rediscover the Volturi's guards' powers. Aaaaaaaaand! a new story might be coming soon (which means I'll be a little distracted starting it up)! (If that one gets posted soon, then I won't be updating it as often as this one.)**


	12. Go Team

**c=3x10^8 m/s=a little slower than the speed at which**** I wrote this. That's right, _I_ was that bend in space-time that you were feeling all day today.**

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* * *

**

Aro decided that if one of the leaders or guard were going to leave Italy, then all of them would, with the exception of Caius, who would look over the Volturi's hide out. The news irritated me until Carlisle suggested that we split up for the sake of discretion. I was grateful when they agreed to that. I did not feel comfortable walking amongst these murderers, and I did not trust them, even if Carlisle did. No-it _wasn't_ that I didn't trust them, it was just that...No, I didn't trust them, somehow. Maybe it was Aro's selfish personality, or maybe it was just the uneasiness it caused me knowing that he could know every precious moment Bella and I had shared just from a touch.

Demetri, the tracker, concluded that we should head to Forks first, since that was where Bella's scent would be the strongest. We followed his lead, arriving using the quickest and obscurest modes of transportation that we could manage. Minimal interaction with the Volturi was made, and it could be safely assumed that no one suspected our supernatural brigade.

I was impatient when we arrived back in Forks. My instincts were telling me that she was much farther away from us than this small town. And we didn't have any time to waste-for all I knew, she could be dead by now. The thought grew more difficult to push out of my mind with each second that went by without finding her.

Demetri inspected the entire house and managed to memorize her scent quickly. He was able to follow the trails she had taken before we had left, and was even able to follow the scents back to our cabin. This should not have surprised me considering the scent was relatively fresh, but he was incredibly fast. He had absolute confidence in what he was doing. I almost loathed him. I had always been a horrible tracker compared to other vampires.

"Do you have any reason to believe that anyone but me, Bella, or my family have been here?" I asked scathingly.

"As a matter of fact, I was just making sure that I knew her scent before we head out. There is no need to have such a derogatory attitude toward those trying to help you," Demetri answered.

"The only reason you are willing to help me is because you are following Aro, and the only reason Aro wants to help is because he hopes that Bella and I will join your coven. That is never going to happen."

"Then give him some other motivation for him to help you."

I had none.

"Exactly as I thought," he answered to my silence. "You have the abilities of the most powerful vampires in the world in the palm of your hand, and yet you refuse to be grateful for that. Don't you want your wife back?"

"Of course I want my wife back!" I almost shouted. Carlisle had also doubted me immediately before Bella had left, and though my attitude did not exactly match my desires, the questioning was getting on my nerves. "And I _am_ grateful that Aro agreed to help us. I just question your motivations."

"Question them all you wish. See where it gets you."

The thought of irritating them and sending them off in a fury, either to not find Bella at all or to find Bella for themselves, sent hurt through me, and the thought that it would be my fault if they did decide to depart us hurt even more. I was going to find the one I loved. "I apologize. I will control my opinions from now on."

"That would be for the best." I waited as he inspected the rest of the house then came back to the front door, where I was standing.

"Perhaps leaving was the worst thing you could have done. There are no scents or signs of anyone unusual."

That lit the fuse again. Fuming, I shouted, "I was trying to protect her! Don't you dare say that what I did was not for the best!"

Demetri walked calmly away from me. "Control your emotions, young man."

As if on cue, Jasper showed up between the trees. He nodded his greeting to Demetri, then approached me, using his power expediently. "Edward, you know better than to anger them."

"I cannot stand to be working alongside them. I appreciate having them as a resource and I am aware that their powers are invaluable. It just kills me that we cannot find her on our own, that it is necessary that _they_, of everyone we could ask, must be the ones to help us."

"Do not allow your own pride to interfere with our search."

"This is a shameful way to act," I acknowledged.

"If you need me to accompany you throughout the way..."

"If that's what it takes...if you don't mind, that is."

"If I minded, I wouldn't have offered," he told me with a smile on his face.

"You're an amazing brother, Jasper."

"Well, I couldn't have asked for a better family to belong to."

After spending decades with the rest of this family, it truly had adopted the essence of that word. Emmett was always behind us, protecting us with his bear-like demeanor, Carlisle and Esme were incredible parent figures, and though Jasper was usually more aloof, if he needed to step up and allow us to take advantage of his power, he would gladly do so. And of course Alice was that typical sister figure, giddy and girly and always wanting to go shopping, and of course she would impart to us her visions if one of us were in trouble. As for Rosalie...well, she was the pig-headed family member that you wished would just go away though you would do anything for her if she were to run into some trouble.

"I couldn't agree more," I responded, and we headed toward the house.

The rest of my family and the Italian vampires were in the living room discussing what Bella's fate might have been. Jasper calmed me down as soon as my anger appeared, but still I voiced my question,

"Do we have anymore ideas as to where Bella is?" At least my words did not sound angry. Jasper's presence was effective.

"I'm sorry, Edward. We're trying, but Demetri says that there has been no one in the cabin and there are no vampire scents besides ours around the house."

"Maybe it wasn't a vampire."

"There is no one else that could have the ability to execute what happened to you and Alice."

"That is true, but maybe we need to open up more possibilities. Maybe it's something we've never seen before."

A still silence fell over the room.

"I wouldn't know what to look for if it isn't a vampire," Demetri finally spoke hesitantly. "I know the scent of a vampire, but I have not seen any other creature with the abilities that we have."

Well, I _knew_ that, but that was beside the point, I supposed.

"Let us not distress," Aro interjected. "We are the most powerful vampires in the world, and we always find who we are looking for."

That statement was fact; no one they stalked was ever heard from again. I tried not to remember that this situation was different than anything that had ever happened anymore. I tried to convince myself that we would find her.

The doorbell rang and again that stiff silence overcame our assemblage. All were accounted for; there was no reason for anyone to be visiting us. In seconds, my mind processed who would want to see any of us: Charlie. My eyes flew to the crimson red eyes of the Volturi and their guard.

"Hide!" I hissed. Alarmed, they all scrambled to different areas of the house.

A quick filtering of the minds that were inside my head told me that I had predicted incorrectly before: it was not Charlie who was standing outside.

Instead, it was Jacob.

Now, Charlie could easily be convinced that Bella was out shopping with Alice, or that Bella and I had extended our honeymoon if I had Carlisle answer the door.

Jacob, on the other hand, would know that something was wrong. I took a deep breath. Jasper hidden somewhere behind me so he could help me without his presence becoming obvious, I opened the door to face Bella's werewolf best friend.

"Hello, Edward," he said disparagingly. "I just came over to visit Bella. I haven't seen her in a while."

He was not lying, but I could lie gladly. I thought this over: perhaps his fury and the senses of a wolf would be advantageous abilities to have on our search mission. I shuttered at the thought, though. I already had to team up with the Volturi. I wasn't going to bring someone else that I despised onto my team. "She and Alice went shopping," I told him. "They're in Port Angeles."

He was disappointed. Good. I was feeling rather vengeful. Jasper felt this and the emotion was pushed out of my head to be replaced by a neutral one.

"Oh, that's too bad," Jacob voiced. "When will they be getting back?"

"Well, they were planning on being gone for a little bit, actually. So much to buy, so little time, you know." That had to be the worst-executed lie that I had told in all my 108 years.

Jacob did not buy it. Eyebrow raised, he asked, "Something wrong? Why isn't Bella home?"

"Everything is fine. Bella and Alice just wanted to-"

"Edward," I heard Alice call from behind me, and cringed. I looked over my shoulder, glaring at her. She stopped in her tracks.

"With Alice, huh?" Jacob queried.

"Rosalie, I'm sorry," I attempted to recover, acting as if my memory had slipped. "Female bonding. They don't really get along that well and-"

I saw the expression on Jacob's face become even more doubtful and looked back. According to his thoughts, Emmett and Rosalie were with Alice, speaking in whispers. I closed my eyes, trying to find a different lie.

Family can be incredible sometimes, but here was a moment that I wanted to strangle them all. It is a shame that vampires are not so easily destroyed. My lie had fallen apart with unprecedented speed. This _was_, without a doubt, the worst lie ever told-not just in my lifetime, but in the history of life, the universe, and everything.

"Esme," I attempted again, fruitlessly.

"Give it up, Edward."

I sighed. "We don't know where Bella is," I admitted painfully.

"You what‽" He made an endeavor not to lose his temper, but I knew that it was only Jasper that calmed him down.

"We are doing everything in our power to find her."

"How could she possibly be lost‽"

"She...uh...Well, I don't know, Jacob. I'm just as worried about her as you are."

"And what's more, you're probably to blame! You just couldn't stay away from her, could you? Every single time she runs into trouble, it's your fault! Every single time!"

The truth of those words stung. "I do my best to protect her," I said weakly. "Something that was beyond our control that took her."

"How could it have been beyond your control‽"

"I cannot explain it to you. Jacob, I want her back _now_. I want her back even more than you do. You can't even imagine-"

"Actually, I can. It's a shame that she married you, Edward."

I did not respond. Jasper certainly was using his power over me well.

"Well, do you have any idea as to where to look for her? Was she lost anywhere near here?"

"We don't know where she is." I paused. I could just as well not tell him about the false trails that we had planted before Bella and I had left and have him running all over Washington. But if he was willing to help, then he might as well. He did not need to know about the Volturi, though. Sighing, I informed him, "Bella and I left a few weeks ago and I had to arrive back home without her. Maybe she will make her way back here, though."

"What are you getting at?"

"You'd make a good watchdog."

He scowled at the remark. "That's a joke, right?"

"You want to help us find her; we could use all the help we can get. If she were to return here, then I would want someone here with her to protect her." Stiffly, I continued, "And who better to do the job?"

"You expect me to stay here with that vampire smell for an indefinite amount of time?"

"I'm sorry. If you don't want to..."

Through gritted teeth, he said, "Fine. I will. Whether or not you come back to a standing house will be a different story."

"There are countless items in this house with historical and sentimental value. Some of those items, or at least he sentiments attached to them, are Bella's. I'd advise that you control yourself. After all, we will have to suffer from the smell that you will leave here when we return."

_If Bella comes back before you do, you are _not _getting her back_, Jacob thought.

I scowled. "Control your thoughts, Jacob! You honestly think for a second that I will not know if she returns? Alice will know if Bella comes back here-she will see it! You are here solely for protection."

"Then why don't you just call me when she returns so that I can pick her up and bring her back to the rez until you make it back?"

If Alice's visions weren't being so uncertain right now, he would have stated the perfect plan. I was not going to disclose the information about Alice's faultier-than-usual visions to him, though. "I want you here so that you can protect Bella immediately when she gets here."

He thought this over for a second. "Fine, then," he finally said through gritted teeth.

"I must request that for now you make your way back to your home. Just until we have departed."

"Why?"

"There are others that I would not like for you to meet."

Stiffly, he agreed. "Why's that?"

"They are others of my kind. I don't know if you have noticed, but our kinds do not exactly get along well, Jacob."

He grunted. "At least you're right about that," he agreed. He turned to leave, but changed his mind.

"You are not going to hesitate in bringing her back to Forks," he added as a last request. "I want to see my best friend again. I want to know that she's safe."

"If she's in my arms, she will be safe."

"That's not the truth and you know it." Jacob made his exit, and I slammed the door closed. Thankfully, I remembered my strength and only sent a loud noise resounding through the house.

"I'm sorry, Edward!" Alice said immediately after his departure.

"You couldn't have stayed upstairs‽" I demanded with infuriation. Jasper sent a wave of calm over me.

"I wasn't paying attention! I just smelled Jacob and decided to come down to tell you not to bring him upstairs. I'm so sorry!"

"Now he's in on this, and he probably won't even stay here like I told him to. Knowing him, he'll try to assert his masculinity or something equally stupid-" Jasper calmed me down once more. "At least he will be useful if she _does _come back to Forks..._if_ that happens..." I looked to Rosalie and Emmett.

"What was _your_ excuse for coming down?" I questioned.

"I thought we could help scare him off," Rosalie responded.

"Seriously?" I asked dubiously, though her thoughts did not contradict her.

"We thought you would need some help telling him off. That's all. I'm really sorry..."

"Hey, man, if you'd have let me arm wrestle the guy, he woulda run away like a scared kitten," Emmett joked, trying to lighten the mood.

I just groaned. Great. Now I had a puppy dog helping me find my wife as well as possibly attempting to steal her and it was all thanks to carelessness. I could only hope that this search would not continue to be as painstakingly difficult as it had begun.


	13. The Lion's Lair

The Volturi and the rest of my family were upstairs discussing strategy to find Bella, as well as theorizing what could have happened to her. As far as I could tell, they were still getting nowhere. All they could agree upon was that for now we should stick to the theory that a powerful vampire had taken her away from me, and whoever it was would attempt to elude us until we could outsmart them.

"So where do we start?" I asked, unable to be frustrated or worried with Jasper around.

"We start with Isle Esme," Demetri answered.

Carlisle and Esme didn't seem to have a problem with this, and I did not seem to have a problem with this. It was only Jasper at work, though. Then again, Carlisle and Esme would do anything for Bella, even if it meant taking away the sacredness of their favorite place. Jasper was doing a good job of not allowing me to feel guilty about that.

We headed out as soon as the moon replaced the sun in the sky, and were sure that few humans would be roaming about. The journey back to Isle Esme yet again was tiresome, nerve-racking, boring. Traveling there once, twice, was fine, but going back a third time within a span of a week was just monotonous. If only there was a way for us to just find Bella...

The sun was just beginning to decorate the sky with its oranges and pinks as we arrived at the deserted island. The way the light hit the island at sunrise was incredible, just as I remembered from all that time ago. Colors played around in the most creative of ways, flirting with each other and creating a work of art too beautiful to be restricted to a canvas.

Demetri was pleased when we arrived; this was just the place he would need to find Bella. I just wished that he would control his thoughts around me; the scent was driving him mad with thirst. It made me thankful that I was now able to contain my thirst, but it was unnerving to hear someone else thinking of what I had once gone through, and not attempting to control themselves.

"What are you going to do?" I asked for an excuse to attempt to ignore his thoughts.

Demetri looked to me with a smug glance. "Find a trail that leads us to your wife."

His patience with me was running thin. I decided that I would be keeping my mouth shut around him from this point forward.

Satisfied with my silence, Demetri set off looking for and following Bella's scent.

"What do we do now? Wait?"

The question was directed toward Carlisle, but Aro answered instead. "Demetri is the best tracker in the world. Do not underestimate him. Keep your patience, boy. Hurrying things along will only cause the search to take longer."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Aro," Carlisle agreed.

I moved closer towards Alice and Jasper. Once more, I needed some calming down. Jasper put his hand on my shoulder in a sign of comfort.

"I'm sorry, Edward," Alice whispered.

"This is not your fault," I insisted.

"I keep going through all the scenarios in my head..."

"I know, and it's getting a bit annoying."

"I'm sorry about that, too."

"Jasper..." I started, but he needed no cue. Before I could request that he change what she was feeling, his arms were wrapped around her. Jealous, I turned away. If only patience really was possible in this situation...

I filtered out all of the noise in my head to focus on Aro. He stood silently and haughtily next to Carlisle, thinking about how the addition of Bella to our world would advantage himself and his coven. His thoughts were centered on how Bella could most easily be changed. I glared at him when that thought entered his mind. Immediately, he looked back to me.

"At least you're confident that we'll find her!" I shouted. Carlisle was alarmed at the sudden outburst.

"I am confident that we will find her," Aro chuckled.

Jasper calmed me down so that I could say without anger, "I don't want you to be the one who changes her."

"You have not done it yet."

I wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that. Aro wouldn't see my side of the situation; he only saw that Bella needed to be changed.

"If you had not been so hesitant to change her, we would not be in this predicament right now. She could be..." A new thought crawled into his mind, and this one I liked. "Carlisle-would you be willing to make a trade?"

Carlisle was suspicious. "What kind of trade?"

"This vampire has been able to elude us as none have before. He may even harbor more strength than Bella. When we find him, I am willing to allow you to change Bella at your own pace, and I will not ask her to consider joining my ranks. In exchange, you will not kill this new vampire."

Carlisle had his reservations, but did not want to bring them up. "That sounds more than fair."

"Then what's in it for me, is in it for you." Aro bowed his head toward me.

"Thank you, Aro," I said graciously.

Carlisle's thoughts were now with this proposal. What if the vampire was too powerful, as they had discussed earlier? What would Aro do in that situation? Would he use a loophole to derail this contract? Or did Aro know something that he was not disclosing? Carlisle noticed me scrutinizing him and turned his attention to a dead leaf that was falling to the ground.

I zeroed in on Aro's thoughts again. There seemed to be no new information. Then again, he was fully aware now that I would not allow myself to be ignorant to his mind.

Demetri finally returned, saying, "She was taken away from the island. There is a trail leading from the northeast side. Just follow me. We'll need the boat, though."

We all boarded our boats and Demetri led us to the opposite side of the island. I could not detect her scent there, and I had been around this island countless times after she had disappeared. How could I have missed that there was a trail where he led us? I raised an eyebrow, but did not dare question him. His thoughts told me that he was being truthful, but it was no secret that I could read minds. I just had to trust him. Carlisle did, at least. And I should trust Carlisle's intuition.

"The scent is very faint-she must have been moving quickly. But I should be able to follow it," he said when we reached the alleged trail. He increased the speed of his boat and we followed a straight trail into the afternoon.

* * *

When we arrived to another island, one even more desolated than Isle Esme, somehow I knew that this was the place. As soon as Demetri set foot on the island, he started running away, hopefully towards Bella. I followed him eagerly. If this was indeed the place, I was not going to wait for him to find her and then come back to get us.

Demetri stopped at the middle of the island. "Her scent stops here..." He looked around. "Ah..." Bending down, he knocked his knuckle on the ground.

"Trap door." He moved his hand over the earth, a puzzled look dawning over his face. "I don't know how this is opened."

I moved my hand over the area, perplexed as well. "If Ben were here..."

"I don't think that this is something that Ben could move..."

I didn't listen to the rest of his explanation; instead I was filtering through the voices in my head. Carlisle...Esme...Alice...Jasper...Rosalie...Emmett...I counted them off one by one, but could not find an unfamiliar inner voice. "Ah...Demetri," I said slowly.

He met my eyes. "Yes?"

"I can't hear another mind. Are you sure that Bella is in there?"

"If she's not directly in here, then she went through here. But look-" He brushed the fake grass off of the trapdoor, revealing several sockets. "Locks. We'll have to get the others to help us break in."

He took off running and I moved my own hand over the large space, attempting to analyze it. The door had three sides and two notches in it so that whoever this belonged to could lift it up. There was a huge K on it, with the letters A and Z at the bottom, with various designs decorating the empty spaces. One of them was a lion that could have reminded me of the symbol on my own family's crest, but it was far more beastly. It was obvious that this door belonged to the vampire who was eluding us-and he was bragging about his strength in the most subtle of ways-but when I skimmed through the minds yet again, there was still no one new. Demetri might have been right though-this could just be a passageway that Bella was lead through.

Demetri returned within a few minutes. "This will lead us to Bella, but I do not think that I will be capable of removing this cover on my own. It has nine different locks on it, and I highly doubt that someone that is willing to build a secret passageway with this much security doesn't know what he or she is dealing with."

"So we open it together," Carlisle assumed.

"Precisely."

We all gathered around the triangular trapdoor and I put my fingers in the little notches that were placed here for this purpose. Jasper did the same for the other side, and Emmett for the last. Then, someone else held onto each of our arms, creating a sort of chain to give us more strength. I noticed Jasper looking up at me, trying to get my attention. Once I met his eyes, he thought,

_I'm going to give everyone a spike of anger so that we can all get an adrenaline rush and lift this easier._

I nodded. "On my count," I started, more to Jasper than to anyone else.

"One." Jasper's face looked intense, concentrated. Calm rushed through the group.

"Two." Still, the calm before the storm. Jasper was prepared to anger every one of us.

"Three." A monsoon of anger rushed over the entire assembly, and with one easy heave, the door was yanked from the ground. Jasper quickly lifted his gift so that we would not tear each other to shreds.

Bewildered at the sudden rush of emotion, Carlisle asked, "Was that you, Jasper?"

He nodded shyly. "I figured it would help."

"Clever thinking."

I looked down to the gaping hole we had left in the ground. Dirt caved slowly inward bit by bit where we had hauled away the cover, but the stone staircase downward was clearly visible. The stairs were crafted from clear diamonds fused into polished granite-showy, but there was no doubt that he had done this by hand. I wondered how long it had taken him to make this, both in regards to building it and polishing it so brightly. And where had he found all the materials for it?

I turned to Carlisle to see his reaction to this. His eyebrow was raised. Leaning down to feel the texture of the stones, he said, "Diamonds and granite? It's not so much that he's strong enough to break and bend them that impresses me as it is that he seems to be ostentatious in whatever abilities he has. This amount of diamonds and granite would not be easy to come by. He's bragging." He looked towards the door-now only a huge hunk of metal. "And, it took fourteen of us to lift that door. Would one of us be able to lift it by ourselves?"

To test his question, I tried to lift the broken door with both hands. Though I managed to lift it a few centimeters, there was no denying that it was heavy. And if I believed that it was heavy, then it _was_ heavy. "Don't tell me what I think that means."

"You already know what I think that means." It meant that the battle would be difficult, even with the fourteen of us teamed together to fight him off.

I sighed. "I don't care how hard we have to fight to get Bella back."

"That's the spirit."

Aro and the rest of his companions began travelling down the staircase, and we followed suit. Finally, we were on our way to an answer.


	14. The Lion's Heart

**You'd really think that the awesomeness of these chapters would be compromised with the speed at which I write them. (Yes, I'm almost as cocky as the character introduced in this chapter.)**

* * *

We walked through the passageway at a moderate speed so that we could readily meet any doors if they existed. The walls were lined with odd, elaborate paintings and decorations that flaunted his personality: greed, strength, and conceit above all. I would have wanted to destroy them all in blind fury had Jasper not been present.

"He is confident in his abilities," Aro observed.

Carlisle did not respond. He was stiff-postured, with a serious expression on his face, trying not to think about something. I was afraid to ask what was really on his mind.

At the end of the passageway, we reached an iron door that was laden with three triangles: one on the top, one on the bottom, and one on the right. I realized the shapes formed a huge K, and it bore the same symbols that the trapdoor had. There was but one lock on this door; it rested in the middle of the triangle on the right, with a round handle surrounding it.

"How do we conquer this one?" I wondered aloud, though this did not seem to be as tricky as the last one had been.

Carlisle bit his lip, thinking. I followed along with his thoughts, but he was not getting very far. "It's difficult. We know that this will be too heavy for one of us. But at least this door has a handle..."

"I guess we'll have to initiate a kind of tug-of-war," I suggested. There was something that he was hiding-some other reason why he refused to make a suggestion.

"Yes..." Carlisle would not expose his actual thoughts. It was becoming infuriating. Since we had traveled through the trapdoor, he had started becoming more and more reserved.

I grabbed the handle of the door, and Carlisle grabbed onto my waist. Everyone else followed the same motion behind us.

The metal groaned and screeched as we pulled. It seemed almost fragile under our power, bending and deforming outward at the handle as if it was a stiff brand of putty. The door was obviously a bit stronger than the trapdoor had been, but it was not too difficult for the fourteen of us. Within seconds, it was tugged from the wall completely, leaving a gaping hole where it had been.

I gasped at what met my eyes. This room was pitted out on both sides, and huge fires were blazing in these pits. The chamber glittered with the sparkle of thousands of diamonds embedded in both the walls and floors, along with the shine of the polished granite. The raging, dancing yellow light from the fires only added to its splendor.

There was not an unimpressed mind in the room save for Carlisle, whose thoughts remained stagnant.

"Do you think that he's really wealthy enough to afford all of this?" I heard Rosalie whisper to Emmett behind me.

"Do you honestly trust him to be wealthy?" Carlisle questioned in response, leaving Emmett without a word.

"What's wrong?" I muttered to him.

"Edward, we cannot underestimate this situation."

A realization set in, one that should have set in the moment I started picking up on Carlisle's stiffness. "Do you know who this place belongs to?"

"No, I do not," he refuted, and he was telling the truth. "But he is confident about his strength, and he is warning us with this chamber."

"What?"

"I am trying to overcome my reservations, otherwise I would not have come this far. If my instincts are correct-"

"If?" I interrupted. "If there is an 'if' involved, then we need to try. 'If' means that there is some probability that we can defeat him, and I will not walk away if there is a chance that I can have Bella back."

"Edward, these fires are to burn our pieces!" Carlisle exclaimed, his own fire gleaming in his eyes. "To burn _anyone's_ pieces if they cross his path!"

Aro took authority. "Carlisle, there are fourteen of us, and most of us have some sort of power to use over him. Remember, I will know everything he has ever thought. Jane can throw him into pain, and Alec can cut off all of his senses. Edward will know his moves before he even makes them since he can read his mind. And there are fourteen of us. One should not be a problem for fourteen."

Knowing he would not win, Carlisle gazed pensively into the fire.

"I am willing to die for her if that is what it takes," I said sternly to him. "I won't let that happen, though."

Carlisle turned to Esme, gripping her hand. "Just leave now. I don't want you hurt. I don't want to be without you."

Alarmed, I glared at Carlisle. "Pardon me? You want her to just leave us?"

"I want _all_ of us to leave. But if you are going to be persistent, then I am going to save the one that I love."

"We need all of the help that we can get."

"He's right, Carlisle," Esme interjected. "I'm not leaving my family."

"Esme-" he began to beg.

She put her hand soothingly over where his heart would be. "I have to stay here and help fight to get Bella back."

With a pain expression on his face, he nodded slowly. Then he took Esme's hand and kissed it. He parted his lips a few times, wanting to discourage her but he could not get the words out.

Finally, I told him, "I'm so sorry that I've gotten us into this mess. But if we are even one member short, then that is even less of a chance of winning against him." I scanned through Esme's thoughts. "Esme loves you as much as you love her. She will not abandon you."

My mother figure nodded in agreement, and Carlisle looked towards the door that resided at the end of the passageway. "Okay. Let's go."

Taking a deep breath, I held the handle of the iron door with both hands, and we formed the same chain that we had formed for the identical door that we had just torn away from the other wall. This was the door that would lead us to the mysterious vampire; it had to be...after all, why bother placing the fires here if he didn't lay on the other side?

To my dismay and disappointment, on the other side there were two hallways: one leading to the left and the other leading to the right.

"What do we do?" I asked.

"We have no choice but to split up if we want to find her more quickly," Carlisle answered.

"How so? I'm not letting the Volturi get to Bella before me," I whispered the last sentence, though I was sure it didn't make a difference, anyway.

"Emmett and Rosalie will go with Aro, Renata, Marcus, Jane, and Alec, down the left hallway. You, Demetri, Chelsea, Alice, Jasper, Esme, and I will travel down the right hallway. Does that sound fair, Aro?" Carlisle directed the beginning of his statement toward me, but his question toward the leader of the Volturi.

Aro nodded. "I trust that you will take care of the members of my guard."

"Of course."

"Then we shall see you again shortly."

Both parties started running.

"What if they find the path that leads to Bella?" I asked.

Though the question was meant for Carlisle, Demetri answered. "Bella has been on both paths."

"What? Did Aro know? How-"

"I would have said something if Bella's scent wasn't on both paths. Aro would not be pleased if I were to deceive him."

"So in other words, you would not have told me if Bella had been down the other path and not this one? How can I trust you? How do I know that you are not just telling me that Bella's scent was on both sides so that I won't get upset at you?"

"Edward, Bella's scent was on both sides," Demetri said sternly. I sifted through his thoughts; he was frustrated that I would not just trust him. Well, what did he expect from me? It was no secret, after all, that Aro wanted Bella for his own, and what better way to break our deal than to find her before us?

The rest of the run to the end of the passageway was quiet-after all, there was not much we could say. The air was thick with the anticipation caused by Carlisle's words. I only hoped that he was wrong about his conjecture.

The door at the end of the hallway was unimpressive. It was an old-fashioned wooden door with the classic medieval look, and it was obvious that it could easily be opened. Carlisle looked at it in bewilderment.

"No lock?" he wondered aloud.

"There's got to be a catch to this," I thought aloud. I inspected the ceiling, the floor, and the walls, and there appeared to be nothing. A careful examination of the door also bore no sign of a trap.

"Fine, then, I'm going in." I grabbed the handle of the door and thrust it open before Carlisle could protest.

My triumph from knowing that this would be the last door to finding my love quickly disappeared when I saw what was behind it. I had never thought that it would be possible to feel so dizzy, feel the world spinning around me as everything crashed and my heart was ripped out and slashed and crushed. I worked hard to stay grounded, to tell myself that I was only dreaming...and of course, that could not work, for I hadn't dreamt in a hundred years.

The room was colossal, I later gathered from the thoughts that were stored in everyone's minds. Fires radiated from oversized stone lanterns that were shaped as lion's heads on each wall, adding to the blaze of romance. An ornate godfather clock rested on the right side, and it tolled the hour just as I opened the door. Where the walls met the ceiling, there were elaborate decorations that were magnifications of the symbols we had seen earlier. Amongst all of this magnificence, though, the only object in the room that caught my attention was the large ornamental bed with red covers that was positioned in the middle of the furthest wall. On this bed sat a beautiful brown-haired girl kissing a pale blue-eyed vampire.

Bella looked up as soon as I walked into the room. Our eyes met, and several pairs of hands flew to my body, locking me in place. Jasper was attempting to work his gift on me, but I refused to let it work. A low growl escaped from my lips; it surprised me that I had not been able to break free of whoever was holding onto me.

"Bella!" I called. Finally, after those excruciating few days I knew where she was; that she was safe; and I could speak to her.

She only clung onto her new companion tighter. "Bella, it's me, Edward..."

The vampire kissed Bella on her head, smiling smugly at me. Bella spoke at last. "Edward?"

"Yes, Bella. Edward." I wanted to step closer, but whoever was holding me back would not allow it.

She shook her head, no recognition in her eyes. If only I could read her mind! I sifted through the thoughts in the room again; two minds were missing. I looked at this new vampire in disbelief. I could not read his mind. A smirk crossed his lips. He knew.

Jasper sensed the disturbance. "Edward?" he asked.

I did not answer; I couldn't. How could it be that he harbored the same power that Bella would-and how did I not see this coming? Carlisle was right, this vampire _was_ strong. He could mangle with Alice's visions, mangle with our thoughts, and he was stronger than any vampire we had ever come across. Could we defeat him, even with fourteen of us?

I would try. Fury overcoming me as this villain leaned in to kiss Bella again, I managed to break free of the grasp of my family and the Italian vampires. Growling, I ran at my fastest speed towards them. The last thing I heard was my name being called, and then I was falling into my wife's arms.

* * *

**Now, please, do your math homework, children. XD (In all seriousness, I will try to get the next chapter posted as soon as possible since I know that this ending is confusing, but I cannot make any promises since I have two exams next week.)**

**Also, I don't know how many of you are into the outtakes that Stephenie Meyer posted on her site, but I thought it was a cute idea so I've pretty much saved even the things that I've deleted. I posted them here: dubyadubyadubya dot 3x10_to_the_8th dot livejournal dot com. LOL I want fangirls...XD I'm just an attention whore like that.**


	15. Sick Sadistic Lion

**It's not just Edward; I torture any male character I can get my hands on.**

* * *

"Bella?" I asked, stunned as my body sprawled over her. The vampire stayed where he was, but I paid no attention to him. All that mattered was that I had Bella back, and her arms were wrapped around me, and the peculiar vampire was making no objection to it. I sat up, bringing her up with me and organizing our poses into an embrace.

"Edward," she breathed. Her lips met mine gently. "Edward, I missed you so much," she murmured.

"You're safe," I said simply.

She nodded then put her head on my chest. "Safe..." she mused.

I kissed her again, savoring her presence. I squeezed her in my arms as tightly as I could without hurting her, then rested my chin on her shoulder, intoxicating myself with her scent. Those days without her, worrying about what had happened her, had seemed like years. Should I ask her what had happened to her? No...I didn't want to know. I didn't need this moment tainted by rage. My lips met hers once more-I just wasn't in the mood to resist her now. I wanted our reuniting to last as long as possible, and she always lost me in her kiss...

Bella touched my cheek, gazing into my eyes. I gazed back, now holding my breath-though it was much easier now for me to be in this close proximity, I did not like to test myself too much. I smiled and tangled my fingers into her soft hair. Oh, to have that worry lifted from my shoulders. I kissed her forehead. "I'll never allow you to be in danger again," I promised. "I need to keep a closer eye on you..."

Her next words confused me. "I'm safe," she told me, sounding a little dazed.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me."

"Well...good, then. I don't know what I would do with myself if you had been harmed..."

A smile flickered across her face. My triumph was replaced by apprehension when I realized that there was something wrong, something different, in her eyes. "Bella?"

"Edward..." She bit her lip, and recognition was slowly forming in her eyes. Yet again, I wished that I could know what was going on in her head. I caressed her face, savoring the soft pale skin beneath my fingers. So fragile...yet so perfect...She pushed my hand away gently and I let it fall to my side. I tried to not wonder what she was thinking, but it was difficult not to. The way she was beginning to look at me was unusual, fatal almost. She was ready to tell me something I did not want to hear.

"You came rushing in here as if I was dying." She paused, and my first assumption was that maybe she was going to thank me for saving her from nothing. I was wishing for the best, and in the back of my mind, I knew that I was being unrealistic. Moving her fingers along my arms and not meeting my eyes, she continued, "I can take care of myself. I can make my own decisions-"

Baffled, I reminded her, "Alice had a vision that you were going to die. Was I not supposed to be worried that you would be dead?"

"You don't trust me to take care of myself."

"Do you have any idea whose arms you were in? You don't know who he is; he could kill you at any minute."

"You exaggerate," she said calmly. "He's a gentleman; a better man than you could ever be."

I stared at her brown eyes in silence, unable to respond because her words were incomprehensible, and I could not respond to words that I did not understand. Slowly the words sunk in, and I looked around the room. The newly discovered vampire was inched away, recovering from the astonishment of me managing to break free of the ones who were holding me back. Carlisle and the rest of our line-up were at the door, afraid to approach. The rest of the Volturi and Emmett and Rosalie had come in at some point, and probably from Carlisle's warning had not come any further than the door. So this _was_ reality after all?

Slowly, I pushed Bella away from me. "I know that I worry too much about you, but I love you-"

"Not like him."

The words were so simply strung, but they needed no complexity to disintegrate my heart. "I..." I stuttered. "I love you. I love you more than he ever could. I searched for you-I included _the Volturi_ in my search for you-because I love you. Because I worry about you. I don't want you hurt...I just want you safe in my arms..."

"I don't love you."

No words could flow from my mouth-I didn't have the energy or the mental capacity to form any. All I knew in this moment was feeling: heartache took over, swirling around my head as I realized that she was disregarding any efforts I had made to love her and be with her, the rules I had broken to be with her, not to mention that burning in my throat that came up everytime I saw her. I looked into her eyes. Somehow, no anger came into me. I was not vindictive, and I wasn't going to get rid of that burning once and for all. I didn't even want to rip the one who was taking her from me to shreds. After all, I could handle the heartache-the part that dealt with the loneliness at least. And I just wanted her happy, when it came right down to it.

Just one more kiss...

But I couldn't even beg for one. I knew it wasn't right. "Let's go..." I finally said in defeat, and stepped off of the bed. I made my way to the door slowly, passing the rest of my group. I looked back to my Bella one last time before leaving, with the devastation that our marriage had lasted only a few weeks washing over me.

* * *

There are certain things you notice when your heart has been broken. Trivial things, like how the floor of the car stays still as the earth moves beneath its wheels, subtly vibrating in such a way that you can almost imagine the irregularities of the road and the hum of the engine, even if such things are not directly seen or heard. You move the wheel ever so slightly and you can control where the earth below you rotates, rendering yourself and your car completely immobile. And these thoughts sent more spinning through my head.

Einstein proposed the theory of special relativity in 1905. One of the components of it said that there is no absolute frame of reference. Either you are moving across the earth, and it is completely stationary, or the earth is moving across you, and you are the one that is completely stationary. Obviously it doesn't apply to anything useful. Is Bella the one being stationary, and I am moving farther away from her? Or am I the one that is stationary, unable to let her go, as she moves away from me? I shook my mind of that thought-it was getting me nowhere, clearly.

I allowed things to catch my mind and eyes that were completely irrelevant-things that would never have caught my attention otherwise. On this particular day, there was a cloud identically formed to match outline of my former hometown of Chicago, Illinois. It was an odd shape to recognize, all things considered, but all the same, it did my mind good. There, would be the town I grew up in, there, the school I went to, and now I could mark these places on even this cloud with exact precision without any effort whatsoever. And with only a shimmer of clarity, I could remember moments I had spent there.

My house had lain in the outermost suburbs; it was uneventful most of the time, but of course it had its moments and I always had a piano or some sort of music to lose myself in if the monotony got to be too much for me to handle. I could only remember not being so much alone as lonely-I suppose that trickled into my years as a vampire, too. If Carlisle was correct in his theory that we carried into our next lives a trait that was dominant in us as a human, then it only made sense that I would never end up with someone as perfect as Bella.

The sign reading FORKS, WASHINGTON passed by me in the blink of an eye, but even before I could read the population count, my mind went to the thought, _Population: one less_. My house approached rapidly, and I parked my car in the empty garage. Carlisle and the others would be following me shortly. I had decided to drive faster because I knew that I might do something stupid and harm someone else if I traveled too slowly and gave myself too much time to think.

Jacob attempted to bother me when I walked into the house, but I growled at him and he backed away. He was right; our house did smell like dog now. It was disgusting. At least he would be going away now...

Jacob's silence lasted only a second before he decided that he wasn't going to allow me to intimidate him. "Where's Bella?" he asked loudly.

I growled again, leaving the house through the back door. Jacob, unsurprisingly, followed me.

"Where's Bella? Is she coming?"

I took a deep breath. He wasn't going to leave me alone if I didn't answer him. "Bella's not coming." I grasped the branch of a tree and readied myself to climb up. He took hold of my leg as an indication that he was not done yet. Though I could have easily pushed him away, I allowed him to believe that I was staying put of his will.

"Is she alive?"

I wondered, if I sent him to the vampire's lair, would he suck the blood from Jacob's body or would he just run away in repulsion from the smell of the dog? I sighed.

"She's alive and well. She didn't want to come home."

"So did she run away from you?"

I nodded and made my next statement for the sheer goal of him making him leave. "Yes. She is in love with someone else."

Jacob was hurt. "So that's that?"

"There is nothing I can do," I answered sadly.

His thoughts were mangled memories of the moments he and Bella had shared, and they made him wish that she had at least stopped by the reservation to say good-bye to him.

"I'm sorry, Jacob. I'm heartbroken, too." I paused, observing the emotions that his face illustrated. "She was my wife, after all," I whispered. Jacob sulked away, upset and disappointed.

I climbed to the top of the tree and sat to watch the sun set over the small town. This was a silent twilight, an abnormal twilight, with too much time allotted to think. A silence that accentuated the never-ending noise in my head. These thoughts did not belong to others, however-no, they belonged to me, and I could not block them out if they were mine.

I did not go back into the house until late into the night, when the stars were flickering in the sky with such beauty that I could not bear to look at them any longer. Esme greeted me with worry as soon as I opened the door; she held my head in both her hands and kissed my cheek as if she were my real mother. I could not smile at the affection; I was numb.

"I know you're upset-"

"Doesn't take much to figure that out." I tugged Esme's hands away from my face and attempted to go to my room. Everyone stopped me, with Carlisle in the lead.

"Edward, I don't think that Bella is no longer in love with you. I think this vampire is using his power over her in some sort of way-"

"Bella is not affected by powers that affect her mind," I reminded Carlisle. My voice was flat; dead. If only I could block my ears from my own voice. Hearing it just reinforced how brokenhearted I felt.

"This vampire is strong."

"You didn't even want to fight him," I interrupted, saying my words through gritted teeth.

"He is probably strong enough to break through Bella's shield and use his power over her," Carlisle continued. "This is something we have never seen before."

"I couldn't read his mind," I muttered.

"You couldn't read his mind?"

I shook my head. "No. I was looking for his mind the entire time and never could find it. I didn't even think about it. I just figured, maybe I wasn't paying enough attention. But his thoughts never showed up in my head. And then I saw him, and...we had a kind of understanding. He knew that I could read minds, I knew that he knew that I couldn't read his."

"Bella may have told him about your gift. That may be how he knew. I wonder...does he know about all of us?"

"I wouldn't doubt it," I said softly.

"What if he's just using Bella to gain some power? To lure us into his trap so that-"

"Does it matter? He has her; we left." I shook my head. "She's in love with him, and she doesn't even realize..."

"We have to save her," Carlisle said sternly. "It will be difficult, but we have to try. We can't fall for anymore of his tricks. I only allowed us to come back to Forks so we could fetch Jacob. It seems that he has come and gone already, though."

"Why do you want Jacob?"

"More help. At the same time...it seemed that Bella broke out of something after you held her and looked into her eyes. The vampire's spell seemed to have weakened. Maybe having you and Jacob-the two people she cares the most about-there together will get her to snap out of it completely."

"We can try." _If we die trying, I don't care. I'm not alive without her, anyway, in any sense of the word._

"Aro and his coven have gone hunting-they promised to hunt only animals while they are here. I trust him to keep his promise since our rules are so important to him."

I nodded. "I guess it's my job to get Jacob." The wheels in my head started turning, and I remembered quickly what the biggest issue with fetching Jacob was: getting onto the reservation. "How do we get around the conditions of the treaty?"

"Charlie."

"Oh, lovely," I said bitterly. I had nothing against Chief Swan, but showing up to his house without Bella would not exactly be the smartest idea in the world. He had no reason to welcome me into his house without Bella by my side.

"It's what you'll have to do. Just call him. Tell him that you need to see Jacob."

"Jacob was just here..."

Carlisle crinkled his nose. "I know. But this is urgent. Just tell him we need him to come back."

I sighed and pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. "Why can't this just be easy?" I asked rhetorically as I dialed Bella's house number.

Charlie picked up the phone on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Hello, Charlie. I need a bit of information. Do you happen to have Billy Black's phone number? I need to get in contact with Jacob."

"Cullen?" He despised me, it was so obvious. If only Bella wasn't in trouble again, maybe I wouldn't hear that despise as much as I did now.

"Yes," I answered politely.

"Why do you need to talk to Jacob?"

"I wanted to surprise Bella with a visit from him. She's been talking about how much she misses him a lot lately." _Please work, please work, please work_, I begged in my head.

"Why don't you just go to the reservation to talk to him face-to-face?"

"I don't want Bella to notice that I've been out of the house."

"And she's not gonna notice you talking on the phone?"

"It's a large house, Charlie."

He grumbled something incoherently then said, "How about I just connect you?"

"That would be fine." Damn it. I told myself not to worry about it. All I had to do was tell Jacob to come back here. There needed to be no specifics. He could know later.

I heard Charlie dial the number and then Billy picked up the phone. _Please just ask to talk to Jacob_...I begged silently. I did not know what I would do if Charlie told Billy that it was a Cullen that wanted to speak to his son. A phone call was the only hope I had of reaching Jacob quickly, and that fact was even more true since he would probably never visit on his own again if he believed that Bella had left for good.

"Hello?" he said.

"Hey, Billy. Can I talk to Jacob for a sec?"

"Sure." No questions asked. Things were going smoothly. I held my breath, holding out the moment. _Let's keep up this pace_...

Billy called Jacob's name and then Jacob took the phone. "Hey, Charlie," he greeted.

"Hey, Jake. Edward Cullen wants a word with you."

He paused. "Really."

I decided to interject before he could hang up. "Bella would like to see you sometime. She misses you terribly." _Get the hint, Jacob_, I prayed silently to myself.

"Really," he repeated.

"Would you like to come over tonight so that we can surprise her tomorrow morning?" _Come on, wolf boy, there's no need to make this difficult!,_ I wished I could shout to him.

"Sure, sure. I'd love to." He hung up the phone, leaving me with a hint of uncertainty. I sat down in the nearest chair, trying not to worry.

"Is that all you needed?" Charlie asked.

"Yes. Thank you."

"Yeah, no problem." He hung up before I could tell him good night. I folded up my phone and put it back in my pocket.

"Is he coming?" Carlisle asked.

"I think so."

"Then all we can do is wait."

I nodded. The anticipation lasted for only a few minutes, though, for Jacob was soon knocking at our door. I ran to it before anyone else could answer.

"You called?" he asked.

I lifted my eyebrow. He had not come alone. Two other werewolves, Embry and Quil, were standing next to him. "I didn't ask for a trio," I complained.

"I wasn't going to come without backup. How am I supposed to know if you really wanted me to come because of Bella, or if you weren't just ticked off and decided that you were going to break the treaty and suck _my_ blood?"

"That's disgusting," I said in repulsion. Pushing his remark away, I continued, "Jacob, we need your help. And _only_ you."

He was skeptical.

"_Please_, Jacob. It's for Bella. We think we've found a way to get her back."

He was reluctant to work with us, but saw the determination in my face, and wasn't going to let Bella go without at least a good-bye or fight. "I guess I can't argue to that."

"Thank you."

Jacob turned to his two friends. "I won't need you guys. Don't tell anyone that I'm here, okay?"

They nodded.

"Swear?" He sounded stern, but I couldn't blame him. Fraternizing with vampires was not on the top of their tribe's to-do list.

"We won't, man," Quil said. Both changed into their wolf forms, and I led Jacob inside to discuss what we had been through these past excruciating, twisting, and confusing, hours.

* * *

**Again, written at the speed of light and all that jazz. Please don't hesitate to point out any errors.**


	16. The Lamb Within The Lion

When we arrived back to the island, the doors had not been put back into place. With an ounce of suspicion, we headed toward the mysterious vampire's lair. We strategically walked down both hallways so that we could approach the vampire from the front and the back of the room. After reading the other team's mind, both of our groups forcibly entered the room.

We were just in time to find the vampire with his mouth to Bella's neck. He looked up when we burst through the door, and threw her aside, astonished and ticked off.

"So you've decided to come back. How relentless could you be? Don't you know you have no chance against me? It took _fourteen_ of you just to lift my doors. If I perish one of you, then you have no chance at all of defeating me. Individually, you are all powerless."

There hadn't been anything to refute this, so no words came out of anyone's mouths.

"Allow me to introduce myself," he said, bowing sarcastically. "My name is Kaz, and _I_ am the ruler of this world."

That statement struck a nerve in Aro, but he wisely didn't say anything. I read that the only reason why he had come here to defeat this enemy was so that he could keep his position of power. He didn't even care about taking Bella anymore as long as he still had that.

"Set Bella free and we will leave you alone," Carlisle proffered.

Kaz guffawed evilly. "Why would I allow the so-called leaders of our world leave without destroying them first?" His smile was cocky. "This won't even be a fight."

My eyes stayed on Bella, who was still under the illusion that everything was okay. Mesmerized and pained by her presence, I had to remind myself that now was not the time to go after her despite the temptation. Kaz did not seem to notice how much my attention was focused on my wife.

Kaz advanced slowly towards Carlisle, keeping his eyes focused on my father figure. Carlisle retreated with each step that was taken. There was fear in his eyes that I had never seen before. He was attempting to strategize, but to no avail. How could we defeat someone this powerful? Still, my eyes remained on Bella. Would it be worth it to steal her away, leaving my family here to die?

No. It was Bella's life or my family's. If Bella was going to be the sacrifice...then I had no reason to be here, anyway.

I stepped toward Kaz, growling under my breath. He cocked his head towards me.

"You're challenging me?" he asked with laughter in his voice, his head now turned toward me.

"Do not harm my family."

"The same way I should not harm your wife?" Kaz now stood directly in front of me. Shocked, I realized that his eyes were blue instead of the usual black, crimson, or gold. "Bella is possibly the sweetest-smelling human I have ever come across. Like...like cherry blossoms and vanilla. It's a challenge, resisting the temptation that her blood harbors. Makes it interesting though, keeping her in my trance. So difficult to concentrate when all I want is her blood..."

Another growl escaped my mouth, this time louder. If only I could read his mind..."I will not let you have Bella."

"I'll give you a head start." I knew that this was a trick, and did not bother moving. Kaz chuckled. "It still wouldn't be enough."

I wondered if it even mattered. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jacob moving toward Bella. I continued my gaze at Kaz's face. He could not know that Bella was potentially about to be taken away. Before I could master the subtlety, Kaz noticed the movement and was back by Bella. Jacob backed away in intimidation, and I ran toward the scene.

"If I killed her now, I suppose you'd have no motivation to fight me, would you?" Kaz asked, Bella tight in his arms. She seemed completely unnerved by the situation, or else completely unaware of what was going on. She clung onto the villain in return of his touch. The sight sickened me.

I lunged at Kaz, being gentle to the fragile woman in his arms but dangerous to his neck. I didn't care that we don't breathe, anyway-I just needed some sort of advantage over him somehow. It was no good, though. In seconds, I was thrown against the wall with all his might, cracking the granite as the force of my body made contact.

It was enough to snap Bella out of it.

"Edward!" she shouted.

Frazzled, I made an attempt to recover myself. Kaz was over me immediately, threatening me. "You see? There is nothing you can do to save her."

The very first thing I noticed was not his stronger-than-steel grip on my shoulders, nor was it that I was in direct danger of being thrown into those fires outside of this room. My eyes were drawn to his: the irises were nonexistent, or else completely clear. He did not respond to the shock on my face.

"Don't fret; I won't kill you before her. After all, what fun would that be?"

I filtered through each mind in the room: Jacob was strategizing without any knowledge of the gravity of the situation and Jane and Alec were trying in vain to use their powers on Kaz. Suddenly, each one stormed toward me. No match for this super-vampire, Kaz was turned before they could make it. He caged me on with his arms behind his back.

"Each and every one of you is fortunate. I could hypnotize all of you with only an iota of concentration, and still fight you off. In fact, it would make it easier on me._ Too_ easy, you see."

Carlisle looked serious, contemplative. His eyes were scrunched up in thought or observation; which one, I could not tell. I tuned out the other minds in the room to find his in time to hear him thinking to me, _Edward, he's blind._

The shock in my face had to be apparent. This vampire, who boasted about his superiority even down to the kinds of stones he had used, could not see any of us? Well, of course, I concluded. It explained why he was so strong in all other areas: he had to be, because he needed a way to intimidate people to distract them from his flaw. How could we take advantage of this, though? He seemed impossible to defeat.

Jacob advanced towards Bella again, too slowly.

"Werewolf!" Kaz shouted. Jacob did not stop this time, grabbing onto Bella's hand and guiding her off the bed. Kaz gripped Bella's wrist in a second. I saw her eyes flicker towards me in fright. I mouthed words that said I loved her, determined now that she was back to make sure that she knew. "She is mine."

In an instant, each of us reacted, throwing ourselves onto the enemy. I got hold of his arm while everyone else grabbed various other body parts. Before he could react, Jasper was working his power over him, calming him down. I took a deep breath, hoping that this gift would manage to manipulate Kaz's thoughts as well as his emotions. Perhaps he would decide since he was no longer feeling malicious that he would let Bella go. I could only hope.

The air remained stagnant as the fourteen of us clung onto Kaz's body. The quiet was unnerving, as if there was a ticking time bomb about to explode. Suddenly, it did explode-Kaz's hand flew to Jasper's throat as if he could actually choke him. My brain sent itself into worry overdrive: could I allow Kaz to rip Jasper apart as long as it meant saving Bella? I looked to Jacob, who was still holding Bella's wrist. He was dazed and confused, unsure himself how to handle the situation. I mouthed to him that he needed to find some way to pry Kaz's fingers from Bella's arm.

Renata covered us with her shield so that we would be protected if Kaz decided that he was going to illusion us again. It did nothing for Jasper's situation, though.

Clearly, Kaz was gripping onto Jasper both as a threat for attempting to defeat him, but it seemed as if he also wanted to draw our attention away from Bella. I was torn between helping my brother and helping my wife. I looked to Bella standing in the close proximity, and she inched a little closer to me. Knowing that Kaz would not see the action, I leaned closer to her and caught her lips in mine. It lasted only a second, but it was enough motivation and reassurance for me to thrust my hand to Kaz's. Everyone else followed suit, and we managed to free Jasper.

Kaz, expectedly, was filled with fury from our success. Jasper made his way to the opposite side of the room, challenging him. Growling, Kaz said, "You are all pests, and I am being merciful."

Merciful. Sure. I saw Bella grab Jacob out of the corner of my eye, but doubted that they would be able to make it out. Jasper's eyes flickered to the two people trying to subtly plan an escape. I heard an idea come into his mind. If Kaz was angry enough...he would forget all about Bella and go after Jasper. I looked toward him with uncertainty. I did not want him to risk his life.

_I can just calm him down before he gets to me,_ Jasper reassured me. I took a deep breath and nodded. Suddenly, Kaz was running toward Jasper in blind fury; it took me a second to decide that I was going to team up with the other vampires to ensure that no one was badly hurt. The plan ended up working -Kaz ran so fast that he could not turn around in time to get Bella before she and Jacob had left. Silently, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Jasper calmed Kaz down flawlessly and easily, but still Renata held her shield. All others had concluded that their special abilities would be no use against this super-powerful creature.

I wondered if Kaz would allow us to escape him since Bella already had. Then I wondered if I even cared if I died-Bella was safe, and that was what we had come here for. She would be with Jacob if I was to die, and the pain would lessen in time. Everything would be okay because she would have someone who loved and comforted her, and she wouldn't have to worry about the risk of being around vampires. She would live a normal human life, like I had wanted.

"Do not think that you can possibly be immune to my powers!" Kaz shouted in realization that our cluster of vampires was completely unaffected by his tricks. Slowly, I felt the protection being lifted, and fear settled in. He could remove shields? No, it couldn't be...he was invincible...

Carlisle was worried about this fact. He could think of no way to clasp a victory. Each mind in the room was speculating, calculating, trying to find a weakness other than his blindness.

His blindness. Of course.

If we could find a way to cut off his senses of smell and hearing, we would easily be able to destroy him. But how? Alec's power was useless over Kaz.

I turned my head to the granite lions in the corners. It was a crude plan, but it was better than nothing...The granite would not be too difficult to break. Kaz began to advance on my family and the Volturi, and everyone clustered together more to prepare for the attack. I didn't listen to the cocky words that escaped Kaz's mouth as I ran toward the lion flame-holders. Bracing myself, I leapt up to a lantern and yanked it off the wall. There was still fire burning inside of it, but would only make things easier.

Kaz was distracted by fighting off my family. I was surprised that he was not bothering to put me under any illusions, since he was so skilled in the art of multitasking. The smell of the flames should have been a dead giveaway as to what I was about to do, but all the same I managed to shove the scorching lantern over Kaz's head.

Everyone took advantage of the moment of weakness, pulling him apart using two people apiece before he could react: although he was stronger than us regarding his powers, he was built only a little stronger than any regular vampire. _It is done and over with_, I thought as Chelsea took down another lantern so that we could burn the pieces. It would have been appropriate beyond any measures to throw these pieces into the flames that waited outside, but I was impatient. These scraps needed to be eradicated immediately.

Carlisle gave me the honor of burning the last piece, and then I threw the last flaming lion head onto the huge bed on the other side of the room.

Finally. This escapade was over and done with, and I could be with Bella again. The worry was lifted, and now we could be together in peace to continue the marriage that had barely begun.

* * *

**If there are any places in previous chapters where Kaz sees something...please tell me so that I can explain it or change it. Inspiration doesn't come to me all in one big bundle, so this was not initially planned out. Also, I guess it might feel like it's over but it's definitely not. There are a few more chapters left.**


	17. Home Again

I ran to Bella when we reached the surface and kissed her passionately. Jacob stood aside, writhing with jealousy.

"Edward-" Bella started when our kiss had ended.

"I don't care..." I told her, aware of what she was going to say despite my inability to read her mind.

"No," she protested. "I'm sorry. I can't believe that I-"

"You didn't know what you were doing."

"Still..." She shied away from me in shame. "Edward..." Her eyes were full of pain, but it only proved to me that she did love me. Even if I was misinterpreting her, I did not care because the only thing that could ever matter was that she loved me. I couldn't stand to see her with someone else. I couldn't stand to not have her by my side. Selfish, I was aware...

"I don't know what was wrong with me. I thought I was immune to anyone's powers. How could I have...How was I not strong enough to...?"

Her voice trailed off, and I placed my hand on her warm cheek. After kissing her lips softly, I told her, "I don't know what he did to you, but whatever that was, it was beyond your control-beyond _anyone's_ control. He was possibly the strongest vampire we had ever come across." Gently, I held her closer and kissed the top of her head. I kept my nose there, breathing in the sweet scents of strawberries, lavender, and freesia.

"It was unacceptable..."

"We can talk about it later."

I could tell that she was still uncomfortable with being near me after what had happened over the past few days-weeks?-but still I took her hand and stood beside her. I watched Carlisle bid farewell to the Volturi, and started to walk towards the other group. Bella would not budge, though. I looked toward her. She only shook her head. My eyes stayed glued on her, and I stayed in my place. I was not going to let go of her hand again.

Demetri came over to me instead, understanding of my situation.

"Thank you so much," I told him gratefully.

He nodded. "I don't think we want another situation like this to arise-"

"I don't think it will," I countered.

He paused. "It seems as if with each passing day we find a new danger. I wonder how long he has been out there..." Demetri mused.

I nodded in agreement, holding Bella's soft fragile body closer to me. I wanted to find something to say, but there seemed to be nothing to say. My first instinct was to say that I would protect her with my life, but I obviously had not done a very good job of that. If only we had some sort of guard.

Well, our only guard against anyone now was to change her. I sighed. Of course it was the only way.

"Hopefully our paths will not need to cross again," Demetri concluded, ignoring my distracted mind.

I nodded again, upset that the only option left to keep Bella safe was the one option that I wanted the least.

We shook hands, and he went back to the rest of the Volturi. They gave their parting words to Carlisle and then went on their way back to Italy. As I watched them leave, the weight of this burden disintegrated.

I kissed the top of Bella's head again, still aware of her discomfort.

"We'll talk about it when we get home," I whispered into her ear. She nodded stiffly.

Carlisle seemed distracted when the Volturi had left, observing the landscape. I tilted my head at the scene. Though Carlisle was the kind of person to scrutinize things deeply, this was the kind of inspection that seemed filled with nostalgia or otherwise realization. I brushed it aside, wanting to get back home so that I could properly be with Bella again. When we had established that everyone was ready to leave, Carlisle led us off and we left the course, rocky island for our rainy home.

* * *

Bella and Jacob had a short conversation after we returned home, and then I pulled him aside in another room to discuss with him Bella's future.

"You know that there are...certain agreements...that cannot be upheld at this point," I bluntly hinted.

He paused, not wanting to agree. "I could take care of her. I could hide her-"

"Jacob, that's not going to work. Her scent is irresistible; you've seen that. I can't have her in danger!"

"I have an entire pack of wolves that can protect her. You realize that, don't you?"

"You are her best friend," I tried to explain. "There is no risk of you losing her because she's no longer human. But there is a risk of you losing her if she does not have the protection that immortality will bring her. Do you want the loss of her life to be on your hands?"

Jacob paused, but of course he did not allow his ego to falter. "I will not allow her to die."

"There is only one guarantee that she won't."

"Not that," he insisted through gritted teeth.

"I am not letting this happen again!" I shouted, my temper lost for the first time in years. "I will not allow the love of my life to be stolen from me and there is no way in hell that you can protect her if I am not able to! I don't care about this anymore; I don't care about the treaty! I'm going to keep Bella safe!"

Jacob was infuriated. "You don't trust me to keep her safe."

"No. I don't."

"Even with everyone backing me up-"

"I don't doubt your strength. But there were fifteen of us there, including some of the oldest vampires that we know. And still it was barely enough. We just barely defeated him, and it surprised me that we had been able to."

"If you hadn't defeated him-" He was going to say that he would have been the one that I would entrust with her life.

"If we hadn't defeated him, Bella would have only lived to see another day. You would not have been able to protect her. It would have been impossible."

Jacob snarled, but finally caved. "Fine."

I studied his face and his thoughts; there was not any evidence that he was going to attempt to come after me after I changed Bella. I knew that once the treaty was broken, it was broken, but under these circumstances it was not possible for me to care.

The werewolf stormed off to where Bella was resting to bid his last farewell. I trusted that he would not bother to attempt to kiss her since she seemed to be so guilt-ridden at the moment. He was back in minutes, and left the house without a word to me. Good riddance...

I meandered to the room where Bella was sitting, not looking forward to our conversation. I understood that she had been under some sort of spell and that she did not mean anything she had done. I was just happy to see her alive. Explaining that to her was going to be difficult, though. My worst fear was that I was going to give her the impression that I didn't love her enough.

Bella sat on the bed with her knees curled up, head between her legs. I unfolded her gently and put my arms around her, kissing her once more.

"Edward, I feel so guilty for kissing him. I know I don't deserve you..."

"I love you. _I'm _the one that doesn't deserve _you_-I couldn't protect you well enough. With your luck," I chuckled in an attempt to lighten the moment, "you need a man with the strength of an army to protect you."

"How could I cheat on you?"

I fell silent. Somehow, the word "cheating" had never really crossed my mind, despite the fact that I had believed she had been cheating on me the first time I had seen her with Kaz. It was only a disappointment: she had moved on, but it was inevitable. If she was happy, then I had no place to complain to her even if she did break my heart.

"I know that I love you."

"I'm not angry at you, Bella. Kaz was doing something that we've never seen done before. You weren't in control of your actions; he was." I paused. "Alice's visions were even acting up, and you saw that. We've never seen her visions become so uncertain and blurry. But it wasn't just her-it was me, too. Not so much with visions, but with what I was experiencing," I explained to her in hopes that she would understand why I was not upset with her. "Days after we had arrived on the island, I thought that I had received a call saying that it was safe for us to return to Forks. I returned, but when I was hunting I woke up as if from a dream. You know that this explains what happened to you. I can't dream."

A tiny whine escaped from her mouth. "Vampires' powers don't work on me, though. How could his have...how could I have not loved you enough to be able to break free?"

"Carlisle has a few theories. Do you want to go downstairs to hear what has been on his mind?"

"I'm upset, Edward."

I held her closer. "We are fine. I forgive you."

"Don't forgive me..."

"You did _only_ kiss him, didn't you?" I told myself that it didn't matter, but something in my heart was telling me that there was more than one reason for her distress.

The second between my question and the nod of her head were stretched out into eternity, but the sign of assurance sent relief washing over me.

"Still..." she said, "It's the things that I thought while I was with him. That no one could ever be better for me...That I could never love anyone else so fully...When in fact the one that could never love me better than anyone else and that I could never love better than anyone else is right here. You."

"Bella, I want to assure you that you are worrying about nothing. I understand your position, but I am happy that you are safe. And I will always love you."

Tears started falling from her eyes, and she snuggled her head into my chest. I stroked her soft hair; the motion sent a wave of strawberry to my nostrils. I breathed it in willingly, grateful for her wellbeing.

"There is nothing you could do to make me stop loving you," I told her, eyes closed as I mused over her scent. "I know that you didn't mean your actions because you weren't in control of them."

The sound of her sobbing still filled the air, and I allowed her to think for a few seconds. Slowly, another thought crept into my mind. "Do you miss him?" I asked softly and sheepishly.

Her voice told me everything I needed to know: She was absolutely appalled by the question.

"I couldn't!" she said through her tears. "As soon as I snapped out of it, I didn't know what had happened. I saw you hit the wall, and then Jacob led me out of the room. I thought that maybe I had been dreaming about being with someone else, but...but how could I dream about anyone but you? And then I looked back and..."

"The answer was there. You hadn't been dreaming."

"Then why didn't I stop it?"

"You couldn't. You weren't acting of your own will."

"How..."

"Try to clear your mind, and we'll go downstairs and talk with Carlisle about it later-that should make you feel better."

"I'm a horrible wife..." she whispered, barely audibly.

"No, you're not." My lips touched her head in a kiss, and I continued to stroke her hair softly until I felt she was ready to go downstairs to rationalize the situation.

* * *

**Later, at some point, I will be writing a story from Kaz's point of view, about his life. (If I actually manage to get past the writer's block, that is. T_T)**


	18. Theoretical Physics

**Three quick author's notes: 1)TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS TO READ AND REVIEW! :]  
2)Don't you love how I should be studying, and instead I write MORE?!  
3)It's so obvious what I'm majoring in...**

* * *

Carlisle and everyone else sat down at the living room table after Edward felt that he had reassured me enough that he didn't hate me. In my mind, nothing could fully convince me that I wasn't horrible for almost turning my back on someone who had been waiting for me for decades.

Alice walked over to us when we arrived and gave me a bear hug. I hugged back in a way that I hoped was not too half-heartedly. It was bad enough that Edward was pretending that he was perfectly fine with me running off with someone else. I didn't need everyone pretending that they weren't upset with me. And it would just be worse if they _weren't_ really mad at me. To protect myself, I didn't want to know that they weren't. Of course, there wasn't much about me right now that merited protecting...

We sat down, and Edward slung his arm around my shoulder. I felt a fleeting touch of cold stone skin as he gave me a peck on the cheek, then he turned to Carlisle.

Carlisle was tapping his finger on the table, wrapping up his last thoughts. I waited quietly for him to begin to speak. I didn't even know if I cared about his theories. How much better did he really expect me to feel?

I stroked Edward's hand, marveling at the beauty of even the small, natural, and wholly unspecial way his fingers curled into his palm. He noticed the movement and slowly uncurled his hand, but before I could take my hand away from his, he quickly snatched it. Looking into my eyes, he kissed my hand softly. I kissed his cheek in return to disguise how horrible I really felt.

Edward looked back to Carlisle and requested, "Start telling us what you've been speculating about Kaz. I'm eager to discuss this."

Carlisle took a short breath, trying to put his thoughts into words. His eyes wandered down to his continuously tapping fingers on the table. The soft noise was at the just the right volume that it was not irritating.

"I spoke with Aro about it, and he had no desire for Kaz at all," Carlisle started. "He was far too powerful to be influenced by any powers of theirs. It's difficult to find someone with that kind of strength. In fact, Aro almost regretted having to do away with Kaz. When he considered the extremity of his powers, though...He felt it would be too easy to be taken over by deceit." The doctor looked up at Edward with a thoughtful expression. "I think we all realize that he easily could have. Had he not taken Bella, or had we not been successful, he may have been able to take control of everything."

"Easily..." Edward muttered. "At least we know that Aro has the sense to not take a risk as huge as letting someone like Kaz on his side."

Horrible thoughts raced through my mind, and they were horrible because they were positive thoughts about this vampire that the Cullens swore could possibly take over the vampire world. Guiltily, I closed my eyes. I did not want to think about Kaz as the one that I was in love with. I did not want to think of him as the perfect gentleman. Edward noticed my motion and put his hand on my cheek. Immediately, I opened my eyes.

"Love, I know that this is hard on you. But I will love you no matter what."

"Bella..." Carlisle interjected. "I saw his face when Edward fell into your arms. He was stunned that his power could be defeated. You love Edward enough that you defeated whatever power he had over you. He did not want you to recognize Edward as your true love, but you did."

I bit my lip, still doubting myself. Carlisle took my hands in a fatherly manner. "It will take time for you to overcome your guilt, but we all know that you do love Edward. That's why you feel so horrible about this. Let it pass."

I nodded, choking back tears.

Edward kissed me. "It's true, Bella."

"Just give me time," I conceded softly. Edward ran his fingers through my hair gently and held me closer to him. Trying to feel some sort of normalcy, I returned the gesture by putting my arms around him.

"Carlisle..." Emmett interjected. "Didn't you say he was blind?"

"I'm certain that he was."

"So...what about that smile he gave Edward when he looked up and Edward just stood there? How could he have seen that he was just in the doorway not doing anything?"

"I suppose he might have been intrigued that Edward was silent. He probably was smirking because he knew Edward's scent. He knew who was coming for Bella, and he thought it would be a quick fight. He can also probably feel moods, like Jasper."

"But not manipulate them?"

"No, I don't think he can manipulate them. Just understand what the mood of the room is."

"How do you think he knew where we were when we moved?" Emmett asked.

"You've been around Bella when she moves. You can tell when she's moving somewhere because the air moves with her scent. That's how he saw anything-acute senses of scent and smell."

"How are you so sure?" I cut in. "He found us so easily..."

"He might have just found you when you were in Port Angeles and decided to come after you. It was probably a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Port Angeles?"

"Don't you remember? When you and Alice went shopping for your wedding dress, you saw another vampire and asked me if I thought he would be a danger."

Vaguely, I remembered the incident, but I also remembered that Carlisle had deemed the stranger safe. And that vampire had golden eyes and brown hair. Kaz had blue eyes and hair that was so brown that it was almost black. Based on those two features at least-and it was not as if eye color was mutable unless it was changing from red to gold or gold to red-then the vampire from Port Angeles could not be the same as the one who kidnapped me.

"Kaz didn't have red _or_ gold eyes..." I pointed out.

"No," Carlisle agreed. "He didn't have _any_ irises, or else they were just white. I think he could change them at will. Even if he couldn't, he could have made you see anything. He was an incredible hypnotist."

"Hypnotist..." I mused. I played around with the idea in my mind for a few seconds and then said my thoughts aloud. "If his power was only hypnotism then that would affect my mind. I thought your theory was that vampire powers didn't work on my mind, only on my body."

Carlisle pondered this. "Maybe we need to reorganize our theory. Maybe he was just an incredible hypnotist. Maybe somehow he could..." He was stuck on finding a logical explanation that fit in with his previous idea.

"Maybe he can lift Bella's shield," Edward suggested.

Doctor Cullen seemed disconcerted by this idea. "Lift Bella's shield?" I could tell he was sifting through his memories of what had happened in Kaz's lair. "But of course...Renata's shield did not seem to be working. I don't know if you noticed, Edward, but at one point he was almost toying with us, making Renata see illusions-but only her. He was showing off."

Edward furrowed his brow. "No, I didn't notice _that_..."

"He was incredibly proud. And to lift a shield would take an immense amount of concentration and power for most. He was showing off, and we didn't even realize it."

"He showed off a lot."

"But to think that he could continue lifting Renata's shield while fighting...that's immense."

"If the Volturi had decided to keep him..." Edward winced at the idea.

"That would not have been pretty. He would have taken advantage of the moment at just the right time. Just when they began to trust him. It would have been disastrous for us. He could have anything he wanted."

"I wonder why he didn't bother taking over sooner. Surely he would have been able to," Edward thought aloud.

Carlisle nodded. "He would not have needed the trust of the Volturi to control them. He..." He shook his head at the thought. "He could have done anything. I also wonder why he didn't...Maybe he was young."

"I don't think he was young," Jasper interjected. "I think he knew what he was doing, and he just wanted to be alone. He probably knew what was at stake if he did try to take over. It may have taken fourteen of us, but we did defeat him. He knew what risks to and not to take."

"Not this time, though," Edward said fiercely. "There is nothing I wouldn't have done to get Bella back." He gripped my hand with the proper amount of tenderness so that it enforced his point, but did not hurt me.

"Even the best of us make mistakes. Or the worst of the worst of us, I should say," Jasper said.

Emmett's gruff voice spoke up in response to Jasper's initial idea. "If he wanted to be alone, why did he bother showing off outside? The granite, the diamonds, the sculptures...All of it was to show the person who entered-"

"That he was strong," Carlisle said with certainty. "To stay away. They were intimidation methods. Odd-the doors that he built were too heavy for one of us to lift, but he expected someone to be able to get in."

"He was far too cocky to have anticipated that," Edward disagreed.

"Maybe it was just to tell anyone, in case they did get in, in case there was some sort of breach in his 'security,' that they were making a mistake." Carlisle paused. "But...did anyone notice..." His words were coming out slowly with the consideration of his statement. "Did you notice that the island was misshapen?"

Everyone around the table looked confused by this question. My mind was still somewhere else though I was listening to the conversation.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Edward asked.

"It was as if...as if the mountains had been pried from their very places,"

There was a stiff silence around the table. "Are you suggesting..." Edward started to break the silence.

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting," Carlisle answered, nodding. "I think that Kaz may have taken those mountains apart and created those stairs and sculptures from them."

"That's insane."

"He was so strong, Edward. What better way to show his strength than to tear apart a mountain?"

"That's insane," Edward repeated.

"It is," Carlisle agreed. "But I think it may be true."

"All the more reason to be grateful that he's gone now." He said it with an indication of continued disbelief.

"Bella," Carlisle singled me out. "Do you at least feel a little better? We thought that Kaz would be undefeatable, do you see that?"

"But you _did_ defeat him."

"It took fourteen of us, and even then it was a challenge."

"It seemed to go by pretty quickly to me."

"Bella. He can hypnotize better than anyone I have ever seen. He is stronger than anyone I have ever seen. There is no need for you to blame yourself for whatever happened between the two of you. You were not acting of your own free will."

"But I remember it. I remember the emotions I felt, and I shouldn't feel that way about anyone but Edward."

Edward kissed my forehead, and when he pulled away, I saw pain in his eyes. Pain. When was the pain going to stop? "I do not care that you kissed someone else. I would not care as long as you are happy. I love you and I want you happy. I don't care if your happiness makes me unhappy. I want you happy. If he had been the one you chose, as long as you were safe, I would want that for you as long as it was what you wanted."

"It would have hurt you, though."

Edward placed his hand on my cheek and looked tenderly into my eyes. "I would still think about you every day. That is true. But we have seen that he is not the one you wanted, and you are back with me now. We-I-have seen that you were forced to be in love with him. It was not real love. You were being controlled." He tilted his head. "Do you still want him? Are those emotions left over? Is that the problem?"

Those golden eyes melted my soul in the best possible of ways, but now they were also breaking my heart. "I am so glad to be awakened from that nightmare. I know that those feelings were illusions. But, as I could never fall out of love with you, it's difficult for me to completely erase even the fantasy feelings. I do not love him. I love you. But I need to erase him from my memories."

Edward paused, took a deep breath as if he was about to speak, then paused again. He rubbed his lips together in thought then moved towards my face to kiss me. Our lips met, and predictably, the memories of why I loved him so passionately came rushing back. We pulled away and Edward introduced his sentiment.

"If I change you now, do you think your memories of him will grow stronger or weaker?"

My eyes locked with his in eagerness.


	19. To Be or Not to Be

Edward's face advanced toward me to say something and I flinched away. Eyes closed and head bowed down, I let my thoughts race. If there was the risk that I would no longer love Edward-that I would love someone else-after I was changed, I would not want that. On the other hand, even now I could see that I did still love him and want his forgiveness. The simple fact was that I did not deserve it.

My memories flashed back to the blue-eyed, black-haired vampire I had been so infatuated with. His kiss had been passionate, his touch tender. He was constantly tending to my needs and seemed to be able to read my mind in regards to what I wanted from him. He was never negligent and always vigilant. He could easily have been called perfect.

I took a deep breath and opened my eyes to behold the sight in front of me. Edward was anxiously waiting for my answer, twiddling his fingers in his lap and looking down at them.

Kaz was too perfect. I had no feelings for him. Any feeling that I did have for him was like the feeling one would attain from waking up from a realistic dream-though it was there, it would eventually fade, and it was only at the back of the mind. I was putting it to the forefront because of my guilt. But Edward was forgiving me...

I took in another deep breath. "Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked Edward.

"Yes," he mumbled, still looking down at his hands.

That was a clear "no" to me, but I knew that he did not want to change me; he was only offering to keep me safe from harm.

He sighed and looked into my eyes. "Bella, I want you to stay human so badly. But I can't handle seeing you in trouble all the time. At least I know that if you're like me, you're safe. You at least can't be harmed physically. I...I suppose I am being selfish, and if you have changed your mind, I completely understand. But if you still love me and do not think that your love for him surpasses-"

"Nothing could surpass my love for you," I told him quickly.

"I hope you really mean that."

I felt tears begin to brim my eyes. "I couldn't possibly not mean it!"

Edward immediately had his arms around me. "I'm sorry, Bella...I'm so sorry...You know how difficult it is for me to comprehend...that someone as perfect as you could possibly love me...It is only logic to me that you would want someone else, someone better..."

"He wasn't better," I said through held back tears. "No one is better than you. No one could be."

Edward's arms tightened around me and his hand moved soothingly across my back. He kissed my neck lightly. The tears spilled over when I realized the subtle bump on his left finger was his wedding ring. Mine was absent from my hand. And I was an adulterer...

If only Edward could have read my mind, things would be so much easier. If only he could understand the guilt that I was feeling.

I threw my hand to his, touching the ring. Where had Kaz hidden my ring? Had he thrown it out somewhere? I bit my lip, trying to control my sobbing. I could not help but to question myself. How could I have allowed myself to get so out of control that I lost my wedding ring-that I kissed someone else?

"Edward..." I said through my tears. "I love you...I do..."

"I believe you." He squeezed me tighter, moving his hand to my head to show more affection. "We'll wait. When things are back to normal between us, I will change you if that is what you want."

I pulled away from Edward and looked into his eyes. "I don't know where my ring is..."

He kissed my forehead, unfazed. "I can buy you a new one. It's no big deal."

This problem gone, my senses became aware of another problem. My wrist was empty. Jacob's and Edward's tokens were gone now...I bit my lip again and let my head fall onto Edward's shoulder. He ran his cold hard fingers through my hair. "What's wrong, love?" he asked soothingly.

Alice now came to my side to comfort me as well. "If it makes you feel any better, Bella, I'm not having any visions of you with anyone else."

I was a mess now with my tears and quivering lips. Alice put her hand on my shoulder, and I heard Rosalie heave a sigh, followed by the clicking of the heels of her shoes as she walked away. Why couldn't I just alienate the rest of the family like Rosalie? Things would be so much easier if I wasn't allowed to love Edward...if he wouldn't allow me to love him.

Edward kissed my head to elicit a response, and I told him, "I lost my bracelet. It had your mother's and Jacob's charms on it..."

There was hesitation in his silence. If only _I_ could read _his _mind...My sobbing grew louder and harder as the guilt welled up inside of me. "I'm sorry, Edward...It was one of the only things you had left of her..."

He patted my back. "No, no, love...the important thing is that you're safe now. I loved my mother, but you are here now and your safety is my main priority. You are much more important than a charm."

"Edward..."

"I love you, Bella. The day I allow any material object to come before you..." I felt his head move in a motion of disagreement. "I could never. That would be shameful." He planted another kiss on my head, but still the guilt was present.

Edward sensed my emotions and said, "Emmett and Jasper could go back to Isle Esme and Kaz's island, if you want. Since Kaz is gone now, it won't be unsafe for them to go there, but I won't let you go..." His lips moved close to my ear, though did not quite touch it. "My arms will never again know what it means to be empty..."

How could I not fall for that? But how could I not feel guilty?

"I won't make your family go back there. I..."

"If you want us to find the bracelet, Bella, then we'll find it," Emmett offered.

I cringed at the idea. Though the two locations were safe from the evil vampire now, I was still reluctant to have them go there. I guess when it came down to it, I didn't want them to be reminded of the shameful things I had done. When I didn't respond, Jasper spoke up.

"We'll find your ring and bracelet, Bella," he said.

"No-" I began to protest. Before I could be successful, though, they were out the door.

"They don't mind," Edward told me. "If they did, they wouldn't have offered. They will be fine."

I took a deep breath to calm myself down from the tears and Edward swiped his cold finger underneath my eye. "Do you want to survive this?"

"Of course I do." I could already feel the memories of Kaz fading away, and they were fading more rapidly with the more time I spent with Edward. We would prevail. We made it through him leaving me. We could tread through this storm just as well.

I rested my ear on Edward's cold unpulsating chest, head turned toward Alice, who had gone back to her seat. She had a slight smile on her face. It didn't fade as I looked at her, and I realized what it meant. She had had a good vision. Things would be alright between me and Edward. I smiled back at her, and she nodded her head slightly, understanding the assumption that I was making.

Edward's hand moved in circles on my back; the air of the room was calming down. I felt my breathing return to normal and started to relax.

Carlisle and the rest of the family with the exception of Alice departed, and Alice decided to disclose to me her vision. "A couple of years ago, I saw you like us, and I see that again. I also see Jasper and Emmett finding your lost jewelry. You took it off before Kaz took you away. It's perfectly safe on Isle Esme."

I smiled again. "Thank you, Alice."

"I'm just glad that I can say something to make you feel better." She gracefully parted from her seat and gave me a light squeeze before following the rest of her family outside.

"You see? Even Alice knows that we will be fine."

"It's a bit more comforting coming from Alice," I told him.

"That it is. Is your mind set steadfastly?"

"I could never love anyone else."

"When my family returns, do you want me to change you?" Of course, he wouldn't dare without them there to stop him if things got out of control. Yes, Alice's visions were fairly certain once someone had their mind set on a certain track, but if Edward's mind changed in the middle of turning me, Alice's vision of me as a vampire might not come true.

I was hesitant to answer him, though this time it was probably because of the feeling that Edward should not be forced to do anything that he did not want to do. Edward sensed my hesitation within seconds and gave me a reassuring kiss. "Tell me your thoughts."

"I know that I love you. I've said it a million times now. I just want to be absolutely sure..."

"If it convinces you...The fire in my heart can never stop burning, but once you are changed, the fire in my throat will, and that will be perfect. I have expressed to you my desire that you lead a life like a normal human. But it is clear that you are _not_ normal."

Every time he spoke, a sort of wave flowed through me, like I had a melody that was being completed. The discord and confusion in my mind found its harmony and made everything simple and understandable. It took away the anxiety and reassured me.

Taking a deep breath, I looked into Edward's golden eyes.

"I'm ready."


	20. Play with Fire

**I wrote this in one night (specifically 5-6 hours). I'm rather proud of myself.**

* * *

Edward waited impatiently for Carlisle and the others to return, pacing the floors and eventually leading me to sit next to him as he played the piano. The keys his fingers ran over produced slow, yet chaotic music, reminiscent of the anticipation and worry he was probably feeling, as well as the resolution that was about to come from me changing. It almost didn't surprise me now that I was able to interpret his music into his moods, after all, it was such a huge part of him and the easiest way to tell how he was feeling if I wasn't sure.

When the family arrived, Edward hastily moved toward the door. Carlisle looked up with a sense of urgency showing on his face. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No...not at all..." Edward answered. "Bella has agreed to be changed."

Carlisle nodded, glancing towards me. "We'll wait until Jasper and Emmett-"

As if on a cue, the two brothers stormed through the door. Carlisle chuckled at the perfect timing and my ears caught onto another sound: a slight jingling. I gathered that the boys, thankfully, had found my bracelet. Jasper also held a suitcase in each hand. My memory reminded me that I had not taken anything back from Isle Esme that I had brought to it. I thanked the two boys adamantly, taking my possessions back from them. I put my bracelet and ring on and then I wrapped my arms around each of them individually. Emmett hugged back exceptionally tight, as usual, and Jasper seemed taken aback by the affection, but he stiffly accepted it.

Edward saw the objects in my hand and asked, "Do you want to go put your belongings away?"

I thought about it for a second to decide whether or not I wanted to stall this. Would Edward be more or less pleased if he could put this off? I wasn't entirely sure what to think, so I told him, "Only if you want to."

He nodded then and relieved my hands of the suitcases. "We'll just get these out of the way." He paused for a second. "Stay here." An agonized look crossed his face. Before I could ask him what was wrong, he had set off towards the cottage.

Carlisle turned towards me when Edward was out of sight. "Are you sure you want to do this, Bella? He asked. "Once you are changed, there is no turning back."

There was no question in my mind that I would want and love Edward forever. There was no question in my mind that, once changed, my love for him would only grow stronger. I nodded without hesitation. After all, human memories fade. I wanted Kaz to be forever gone, and I wanted my future memories with Edward to be recorded with more clarity than the refraction of the sun's light through the purest diamond.

"I'm sure."

Carlisle nodded once. "Your mind seems set."

Edward returned from the cottage in no time, anticipation etched on his face. This time, there was no reason for him to turn away.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, probably stupidly.

"I want you to be certain that this is what you want. I...I want to be certain that this is what _I_ want." He paused for a second, then muttered. "This _is_ what I want. But the pain-the pain is unbearable, Bella. I am warning you of this now. Do not hate me..."

"I won't hate you. Edward, I've felt it before, remember? Back when James bit me..."

Edward flinched at the memory. "That only convinces me..." A sigh escaped his throat. "You will feel the fire for three days, and then never again. I just can't stand the thought of having to watch you endure this..."

"You'll only have to see it once. You don't even have to watch me suffer-"

"I have to stand by your side. You expect me to just leave you when you are in the most pain that you will ever be in?"

Taken aback, I said timidly, "No. I'm sorry. I just want you to know...I wouldn't blame you if you did want to stay away so that you don't have to see me suffer."

"Bella, you are being ridiculous."

I nodded shyly, unsurprised by his response but glad that I had made the effort to suggest that he did not have to feel guilty about not wanting to see me in pain. "Are we ready, then?"

Edward flinched again. His lips pressed against mine, and I fell into the beautiful kiss with ease. It was almost as if he was trying to preserve the last memory he would have with me as a human.

The kiss achieved the opposite goal of what I had hoped. "One more day," Edward said painfully.

This time, it was me who flinched. "One more day?"

Slowly, he moved his hand from my waist to my thumping chest. "Your heartbeat..."

"It means that I'm vulnerable. Even now...your touch is like ice. Almost too cold to handle."

"You never complained to that extremity before."

"Just change me, Edward."

Another pained look crossed his face, but his head moved toward my neck. He changed his mind, though, and retracted. "Are you prepared to leave behind your father and mother until you can handle being around humans again?"

"Yes. Anything for you, Edward."

"We should at least tell Charlie."

"Tell him what?"

"That you won't be seeing him for a while. Tell him that...that you are going on a very extended trip to..." He thought for a minute. "To a third world country to help build houses for the poor-"

"Yeah, Edward, Charlie is really going to believe that. Much less allow it. I would love him to visualize me falling off of roofs."

Edward chuckled. "I suppose that wouldn't be the best lie to tell. But I can't think of anything else that people tend to go away for years for, and if we disappear without a trace, Charlie will surely report you as a missing person."

"We'll just tell him that we're moving. It's a lot more plausible than building houses."

"I suppose. But it's a bit more permanent."

"Doesn't it have to be, anyway? Don't I have to hide..."

"Bella, that's another issue. Eventually, you will have to accept your friends' and parents' deaths. It will be difficult."

A twinge of pain shot through my body, but I pushed it away. "You will help me get through it. I know you will."

"Everyone you care about soon will die, leaving you behind without them. Can you fathom that?"

"No, I can't," I admitted. "But I can't fathom living without you, either."

Edward took my hand in his and kissed it lightly. "You are sure about this, then?"

I nodded.

"We're going to go to Charlie, then. To tell him that we're leaving Forks."

I nodded again, though I wasn't sure how this would work. "You do most of the talking. You know that I'm a horrible liar."

My husband chuckled. "That is true."

He massaged my hand with his fingers, then continued, "Let's go tell him now."

I nodded in agreement, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible, both because I dreaded lying to my father and because I was eager to have my eternity with Edward finally sealed.

He took a deep breath. "Alright, then."

His hand in mine, we headed to Charlie's house to fill in the last blank leading to my immortality.

Charlie, unsurprisingly, was happy to see me when we arrived at his house, but not so happy to see Edward. I was almost certain that my marriage to Edward did not exactly fulfill the requirements of balance that I had promised so long ago, and bringing Edward to the house whenever I visited surely didn't help much, either.

Edward did not give Charlie much time to complain or speak before breaking the "news" to him. "Charlie, I am sorry, but unfortunately we have come here to inform you that we will be moving to Alaska soon. Carlisle has received an incredible job offer there that he can't refuse, and we have decided to leave with him to see what it holds for us. I understand that you may want Bella to stay here in Forks with you-"

"Damn right I do," Charlie grunted. I managed to keep myself from flinching at the response.

Edward continued on as if Charlie had not said anything. "-but I believe that it is essential for us to move on.

"And..." he continued, leaning close to Charlie. "I don't think Bella likes being looked down upon here. It seems as if everyone in town has been-"

Charlie grunted. "If you hadn't rushed into marriage, they wouldn't be looking down on you."

He looked toward me. "Besides, who's looking down on my daughter?"

Alarms starting going off in my head and I prayed that this would not end in disaster. Edward answered the question smoothly to save the moment from that result. "Charlie, I don't get out much. I don't know everyone's names."

"So describe them to me."

Edward pursed his lips, knowing that he was caught in the lie. "There are so many of them, I could not possibly."

"Start trying. I'm sure I'll recognize a few."

"Dad," I spoke up in an attempt to recover the fib. "It's everyone. Every time we go out to buy food, I hear the people across the aisles talking about me and Edward. Speculating silly things."

"Bells, do you really think that leaving will change that?"

I squirmed in my place. "We'll be moving to a larger city. No one will know us there."

"You can't stay in a big city in Washington?"

"Well...we figured that since Carlisle will be moving anyway..."

Charlie sighed, finally giving in. "Alright, Bells. If you insist on leaving me..." He held his arms out for a hug, and I embraced him.

"Promise I'll visit sometime."

"Yeah..."

We let go of each other, and I gave him an unexpected kiss on his cheek. Edward and I turned and left at an appropriate pace to leave quickly, but not so quickly that feelings were hurt.

Edward chuckled as we got into his silver Volvo. "He thought we were running away because you were pregnant," he informed me. "And if I'm the alleged spawn of Satan..." He chuckled again at his own joke, and we sped off back to his house.

Carlisle had some of his hospital supplies with him when we arrived at the house. He informed me that he was going to administer me morphine in an attempt to lessen the pain, which explained why he had the materials with him. The thought of having this drug in my system was intimidating, but a larger part of me did not care. I was going to be with Edward after this.

The family double checked that all doors and windows were locked as Edward led me upstairs to an isolated room. He sat me down on a bed and waiting nervously as he sat on the edge of the bed. I touched his hand in a sign of comfort, though it did not seem to do much good. In an attempt at easing either me or himself, though, he returned the gesture.

The entire family gathered in the room, including a reluctant Rosalie, and Edward looked fatefully at me. I took a deep breath, though from what I had experienced there was really no bracing myself for the pain.

"If I could just ignore you and let you live your life, I wouldn't have to do this to you..." Edward said with regret dripping from his words.

"If you could just ignore me, I wouldn't really be living."

A small whine escaped from his throat, but he did not direct his next statement to me. "Carlisle..." he requested.

I closed my eyes as the doctor pierced the needle through my skin, then tried to ignore the uncomfortable numbing sensation that spread through my body. That discomfort would be nothing compared to the fires that would run rampant through my body if the drug didn't work...

"I love you," Edward whispered in my ear. I nodded, and his lips moved to my neck. I could only remember a second of hesitation before his teeth sunk into my neck.

The morphine did absolutely nothing to alleviate the pain. I felt a hand move over my mouth as I began to scream in pain, and I bit down on it eagerly in hopes that it would do something for me. I feel Edward attempting to prevent himself from draining me dry, and I wanted to throw my arms around him and make all the pain stop. This was almost worse than being without him, these fires that went beyond the burning of hell. Ungodly pain traveled through my body, and I could feel myself getting, not stronger, but weaker. He was losing control, and I was going to die...I was going to be without him, leave him without me...and the knowledge of that almost hurt more than the venom's flames.

Just as my strength began to fade, the pressure on my neck was released, and I thought I felt a stone arm wrap itself around my body. I desperately threw my arm around the body in hopes that it was the one who could make it all go away. The fire, the burning flames, stronger than the pain that I had felt when Edward had left me...If he could cause pain that was comparable, surely he could reverse it. If he could set my body on fire from the inside out, and if he had once before burned my heart to ashes and then repaired it with the voice of an angel and the eyes of a savior, if that cold stone body could fix anything, then why not this? Oh, the pain of the white-hot flames...and still my mind was on him.

I grasped the back of Edward's neck, my fingers pressed tightly onto his cold hard skin. Eyes closed and unable to concentrate on anything but my husband and the flames that were dancing inside of me, I was unable to see or hear anything, much less care that I couldn't. I longed to call out his name, but the pain was too unbearable so still I bit on the hand covering my mouth.

Somehow, a voice rang through my ear in spite of all the agony.

"You'll be alright, love," he said, and my motivation to tread through the ordeal was set.


	21. Eternity

**To see this and all of my other stories the way they were meant to be seen, visit http:// www. cheaplittlenotebook. webs ****.com (copy and paste, take out the spaces). ****And be sure to leave comments in the guestbook! ^-^**

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Three days later, just as Edward and everyone else had promised, the venom stopped burning. He never left my side, and I clung onto his hand willingly, almost desperately until the pain faded. Each day, his face grew clearer and more beautiful, and my affection for him grew deeper....

The time between being a human and becoming a vampire seemed faded after the transformation was complete. Even the memories that had been recorded only weeks or even only days before seemed as if they had occurred years ago. Yes, they were still present...but not nearly as much.

The room and people that I was with were familiar, but different now. A quick shuffle through my memories revealed a room that was much duller, and details that paled in comparison. Edward held the most stunning contrast between my human memories and my new memories. His eyes were as golden as leaves in an autumn sunset, though such a similarity could almost be called shameful with the beauty those eyes held.

I reached my hand out to this angel when I came to the realization that this was all real. My fingers caressed his smooth cheek, ran along the contours of his jaw line. Had I really seen this same man before?

He smiled at the look of awe that was undoubtedly crossing my face. "It's an incredible experience, isn't it?"

I nodded. "Incredible doesn't even begin to define it."

He kissed my cheek, sending a spark of electricity down my spine. Enjoying the loving sensation, I moved his head closer to mine and fell into a deeper kiss.

His tongue and skin relative to mine now were not the cold stones that they were before; they were smooth as before, but now he was no longer made of stone. I had never thought that I could enjoy our kisses more than I already had...

Edward moved to sit on the bed in a less awkward position, cradling me in his arms. I noticed that there was no limit to what we could do with both of us in this state, and there was never any discomfort. My hand crept under his shirt, finally wanting to do something that we needed to do months ago...

"Ahem," Edward said before I could do anything.

"What?" I asked.

"I may be immortal, but I am not immune to wanting some privacy."

I was sure that I would have been blushing had I been a human. I looked up to see the rest of the family turning to leave the room and flinched. "Sorry, guys!" I exclaimed.

Alice grabbed Jasper's arm and continued prancing out of the way. "That's alright, Bella. You two have a lot to catch up on!"

I giggled out of embarrassment. The sound of bells came from my throat, and I stopped it in surprise. This sound was even sweeter than the sounds I had heard in my former life.

Edward's laugh resounded next to my ear, and I became aware that each of my senses had been heightened. So it really was true, what Edward had said about being the perfect predator. I saw everything with indescribable clarity, with colors that as a human I had not been able to see. My ears picked up each sound as it vibrated through the air. Even the subtle scents of the house lived in-even the scents of where the other vampires had been-were discernable.

Edward moved his nose to my neck. "You still smell just as sweet..." He breathed in deeper. "If not even more enticing." His lips caught my neck in affection. "But the burning is gone."

I smiled. "No more pain. No more worry."

He smiled back. "No more worry."

The statement sent a wave of joy over me. No longer would this incredible family have to go out of their way to protect me. No longer would I have to think about what would happen to Edward after I was gone. No longer would he have to go through the burning pain in his throat that came from being near me...

I kissed him again, lost in the moment. The family had all gone by now, understanding the importance of the moment. "Edward...we're going to be together forever."

"That hardly needs stating."

I closed my eyes and leaned my head on his chest. "I like hearing it."

He chuckled and moved his fingers through my hair. Musing, his smile faded, though the glint in his eyes stayed. He moved his hand along my cheek in the same fashion that I had touched him, love dripping from his eyes.

"I didn't think it was possible for you to become any more beautiful than you already were. Already, your beauty surpassed any competition. Now..." He shook his head. "Now, there is no possible way that anyone could even_ think_ that they could compete with you."

He paused, realizing what he had just said. "Not that anyone could compete with you before. But, now..."

I chuckled. "I understand what you're trying to say." I kissed his lips softly.

"Your eyes are red, though. Are you up for some hunting? I think you'll find it quite exciting."

"Alright."

"You're probably stronger than me," Edward said playfully as he gripped my hand. He looked back to me trailing behind him.

"Am I going to have to give you a piggyback ride, or do you think you can handle running by yourself?" he teased.

"Wanna race?" I teased back.

He broke into a lighthearted smile. "I won't let you win."

"We'll see if you need to." I broke off into a run, heading toward the forest that I knew the Cullens liked to hunt in. I was there in just minutes, but I could see everything around me as I ran.

I stopped when I arrived in the forest, looking around for Edward. I was certain that he had been right behind me...

A rustle near the trees caught my ear, and I turned around just in time to be knocked to the ground by Edward. Unalarmed, I greeted him with a kiss.

"I would be alright just lying here forever..."

I kissed him again, savoring his presence.

"So..." he started slowly. I waited patiently for him to continue his statement. "What's the status of...us?"

I gazed into his eyes, no question in my mind. "Do you honestly need to ask that?"

He chuckled. "I suppose I don't."

"I can't imagine how another person could even begin to cross my mind..."

A crooked smile lit up his face. "I love you," he whispered, lips close to my ear.

"I love you more than I have ever loved anyone...ever..." I pressed my lips to his cheek.

He kissed me back, and then stood up, taking me by the hand with him. "I'm sure you're thirsty. There is a mountain lion not too far away..."

I could tell from his attitude that he was eager to start hunting and was willing to show me how he hunted, unlike when I was still human. Now, he wasn't afraid of hurting me or scaring me. I gave him a signal that told him to take off, and chased after him to the base of a mountain.

The animal was cornered easily, and seemed to stare at us for a few brief and dazzled seconds before Edward caught it and broke its neck. He took a couple of bites of the lion and then threw it to me.

I was surprised at the control that I seemed to have compared to him. Though he acted like a predator in the hunt, I was able to wait more patiently and observe him as he made a kill. Despite the fact that newborns were supposed to be difficult to control, I felt as if I might have been a vampire for years. Maybe I had just spent too much time running with vampires...I was used to hearing their stories and being immersed in their world. This was nothing new to me like it would be to other newborns.

I sunk my teeth into the neck of the lion, savoring the taste of its blood. Vaguely, I remembered being so repulsed by the sight of blood that I would almost faint just from the sight of it. Now was an entirely different experience...the blood now was soothing to the burning in my throat that I had been ignoring since I first opened my new eyes-something that I should run to, not away from.

Edward was gazing at me with a softly puzzled expression on his face after I sucked the mountain lion dry of its blood.

"What?" I asked, confused myself.

"That was almost the last way I expected you to be able to eat that lion...yet, I don't find myself surprised. I think I'm more astonished at my lack of astonishment than anything else," he told me, chuckling at himself.

"Should I be a bit more ravenous next time?" I joked.

He smiled at my playfulness, caressing my cheek. "I don't know what I was so worried about..." he mused. "True, your skin is not that soft and fragile texture that I had grown to love and your heart is still...but I will never have to worry so much about your safety anymore.

"Granted," he said with a laugh, "there is _nothing _that absolutely guarantees your safety, with your luck, but this is certainly a step in the right direction. At least now I won't look over my shoulder wondering what you've broken when you've slipped and fallen, or wondering if you're telling the truth when I hold you too tight...there will be no more holding you too tight," he finished with a smile.

"Actually, you're probably stronger than me now," he continued with another chuckle. "You undoubtedly have more self-control than I, or any other vampire I have ever met, had as a newborn. Your self-control will be invaluable. Though it will be difficult for you to be around any human, and I will not risk it, I do not think it will be as difficult as it was for any of us. I wonder how you could have so much control over yourself..."

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I've been bitten before? Maybe something to do with the fact that I hated the sight of blood before?"

Edward chuckled at the last suggestion. "It's probably that one."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the solace of nature and enjoying each other's company until I remembered something important.

"Can you read my mind now?" I asked.

Edward flinched, frowning. He shook his head and answered, "No. Still nothing."

"Oh," I said in disappointment. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "Don't be. It's not your fault. After all, it will without a doubt come to your advantage. There are a lot of dangers out there, and more than enough of them deal with the mind. At least in that respect, you are almost guaranteed safety."

"Heh. Almost."

Edward nodded. "Almost. Vampires like Kaz who can lift shields are a problem."

I almost wondered how safe Edward really thought I was. There were always these exceptions that got in the way of my safety. Still, Edward would be protecting me. I expressed this concern to him.

"I am your husband. It is my duty to protect you," he said simply.

"I only hope that I can do the same for you..."

"Do not ever put yourself in danger for me," he said fiercely.

"As you would for me? Why wouldn't I?"

He pursed his lips then opened his mouth to speak. His mouth closed again, and I took the opportunity to speak.

"How fair would it be for me to sit aside if you were in danger, if you wouldn't just sit aside if I was? I love you too much to even consider that if such a situation were to occur."

"But-"

"If you don't want me to protect you when you're in danger, don't protect me when I'm in danger."

He scowled. "That's preposterous."

"I can reciprocate now. I am going to."

He sighed, but nodded. "I suppose that _is_ only fair."

"Good." I gave him a kiss and stood up. "Now it's _my_ turn to find an animal to kill."

The crooked smile flashed across his face again. "I'll follow."

I returned the smile and took off for the opposite end of the woods. It was not long before I met a deer, who looked up from its grazing immediately. I had expected it to run, but at first it just stood there. I stopped, wondering where the fun was in that. Slowly, it started walking toward me. I watched it in confusion. Was it not scared at all?

I turned to Edward, who had just come up behind me. "Shouldn't it be running?"

"You _are_ quite dazzling," he answered.

I remembered what he had said to me about being the world's best predator. I was supposed to be drawn toward him, because I had been his prey. But did that really work on animals, too?

I leapt toward the deer, using the same tactics that Edward had used on the mountain lion to kill it. After sucking it dry, I threw the carcass aside, thirst quenched enough for now.

"You're making me question my idea of a monster..." Edward quietly said to me.

"You never were a monster."

He didn't have a response to that but for a smile. A few minutes later, he said, "Are you ready to head home? I'm sure everyone is eager to talk to you."

I nodded. "Sure."

We ran home, where the others of the family were in the living room chatting. Alice greeted me with a hug, as usual. I hugged back tighter than I would have before. I was so happy that none of them had to worry about breaking me with their strength.

"Hey, Bella, up for some arm wrestling?" Emmett joked as soon as I sat down in an empty chair straight across from him. Arms crossed with a cocky smile on his face, he continued, "If you're even half as strong as your little boyfriend, you won't be at all difficult to defeat."

Edward snorted playfully, and I slammed my elbow on the table to challenge Rosalie's monkey man.

Carlisle immediately responded. "Please don't break the table," he begged.

"I'll go easy on her," Emmett answered, getting his arm in the position for arm wrestling.

"Emmett," Carlisle said in a warning voice.

"Alright, we'll head outside," Emmett said in a defeated voice, standing up.

I looked up at his huge demeanor, intimidated now. I laughed and told him, "No, you win by default. Why bother embarrassing myself?"

He sat back down. "Thought you'd chicken out."

"Maybe later," I said with laughter still in my voice.

Carlisle shook his head with a smile on his face and changed the subject. "How are you holding up, Bella?"

"I feel fine. Normal, almost. It's different to be eating blood instead of human food, but it seems natural. Like it's just a different lifestyle I'm living-not a different life."

The doctor raised an eyebrow, but the expression faded in only seconds. "I suppose that makes sense. You've known about our world for a while now and very little alienated you in the first place."

I glanced at Jasper, who was sitting stiffly in his chair. I wondered why he would have such a stance if he was no longer restraining himself, but continued listening to Carlisle.

"The most fascinating thing about you is the shield around your mind. I wonder if you are able to control it like Kaz could. He seemed to have the ability to lift it, but I wonder if you can lift it yourself."

"Are there any circumstances when I would want to?" It seemed to have come to my advantage countless times when I was still human.

Edward touched my hand, and without delay I turned my head to look into his liquid golden eyes. Longing dripped from the butterscotch color, and I understood the use for removing my shield. He had become accustomed to reading minds, and the fact that he could not with me frustrated him, even pained him because he loved me. Even that tiny bit of intimacy would mean the world to him-it was like I was not telling him something important that he needed to have at least a word of.

I kissed my husband in understanding. "I'll learn to lift my shield for you."

"Don't-"

"No. I'll learn to control it for you."

"Don't make yourself vulnerable."

"I won't," I said with certainty.

He kissed me back. "I trust that you will not put yourself in danger, since you know that doing so would put me in danger," he decided. His lips moved gently as he whispered, "I love you."

I caressed his cheek, forgetting about all others in the room as I gazed into his eyes. In that golden color, I saw all that we had been through, and predicted all that we would experience together. Kaz could not break this bond; he could not even come close and no one could.

But fate-destiny? Those words had been used before, and didn't work for me. Those words did not understand the proportions of this relationship. Edward and I far surpassed the silly notions of the millions of words that could be used to describe love. There was no fate or destiny about us-we had always been together, though we had not always known each other. Love like this could be aptly described in only one word: eternity.

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**A sequel is possible, though the likliness of one is questionable. Please read and review. T_T Constructive criticism greatly desired.  
Also, stay tuned for Kaz's story.**


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